ILA Aquila

Voltage Regulation System to be Supplied for Central Kansas WESTBOROUGH, Mass., April 18 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- American Superconductor Corporation (NASDAQ:AMSC), a leading electricity solutions company, and GE Energy, a business of the General Electric Company, received an order for a D-VAR(R) system from Aquila, Inc. (NYSE:ILA). The 8 megaVAR D-VAR system will be utilized to enhance the voltage stability of the Aquila, Inc. (Aquila) transmission system. Based in Kansas City, Missouri, Aquila operates electricity and natural gas distribution utilities serving customers in six U.S. states, and also owns and operates power generation assets. AMSC recently shipped the D-VAR solution in March of 2006 for installation in Aquila's Plainville Substation, with energization expected in June 2006. After analyzing the transmission system, AMSC transmission planning engineers along with Aquila's transmission planning staff, determined that a portion of their Central Kansas system was susceptible to low voltage for certain contingencies. The in-depth studies indicated that a single D-VAR solution would assist with a fast voltage recovery, thereby ensuring the reliability of the transmission network to continue providing superior service to their customers. "We were impressed with the in-depth analysis of our transmission system provided by AMSC," said Carl Huslig, Vice President, Electrical Transmission of Aquila, Inc. "They provided a proven solution that will assist us and other regional utilities in continuing to provide cost effective, efficient and stable power to the customer." AMSC's transmission planning team of engineers is highly experienced in working with utilities to analyze transmission grid networks to develop strategies that improve grid reliability. Former utility planners themselves, the team is highly skilled at understanding specific grid operations. "The passage of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 addresses the stability and modernization of the United States transmission grid, including mandatory reliability standards," said Greg Yurek, CEO of American Superconductor. "The D-VAR system provides a proven solution for meeting these standards and the AMSC transmission planning team provides the experience and expertise required to analyze and recommend appropriate solutions." For more information about D-VAR systems and other transmission grid solutions, please visit: http://www.amsuper.com/products/transmissionGrid/104273030481.cfm. About Aquila, Inc. (NYSE:ILA) Aquila, Inc. operates electricity and natural gas distribution utilities in Colorado, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri and Nebraska, as well as power generation assets. Aquila is based in Kansas City, Missouri. For more information please visit http://www.aquila.com. About American Superconductor Corporation (NASDAQ:AMSC) AMSC is the world's principal vendor of high temperature superconductor (HTS) wire and large rotating superconductor machinery, and it is a world- leading supplier of dynamic reactive power grid stabilization products. AMSC's HTS wire and power electronic converters are at the core of a broad range of new electricity transmission and distribution, transportation, medical and industrial processing applications, including dynamic reactive power grid stabilization solutions, large ship propulsion motors and generators, smart, controllable, superconductor power cables and advanced defense systems. The company's products are supported by hundreds of patents and licenses covering technologies fundamental to Revolutionizing the Way the World Uses Electricity(TM). More information is available at http://www.amsuper.com. American Superconductor and design, AMSC, POWERED BY AMSC, and Revolutionizing the Way the World Uses Electricity are trademarks and D-VAR is a registered trademark of American Superconductor Corporation. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. Any statements in this release about future expectations, plans and prospects for the Company, including statements containing the words "believes," "anticipates," "plans," "expects," "will" and similar expressions, constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. There are a number of important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those indicated by such forward-looking statements. Such factors include: uncertainties regarding the Company's ability to obtain anticipated funding from corporate and government contracts, to successfully develop, manufacture and market commercial products, and to secure anticipated orders; the risk that a robust market may not develop for the Company's products; the risk that strategic alliances and other contracts may be terminated; the risk that certain technologies utilized by the Company will infringe intellectual property rights of others; the competition encountered by the Company, including several large Japanese companies. Reference is made to these and other factors discussed in the "Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operation" section of the Company's most recent quarterly or annual report filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. In addition, the forward-looking statements included in this press release represent the Company's views as of the date of this release. While the Company anticipates that subsequent events and developments may cause the Company's views to change, the Company specifically disclaims any obligation to update these forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements should not be relied upon as representing the Company's views as of any date subsequent to the date this press release is issued. Contact Information Media Rick Sheehy 508-621-4454 American Superconductor Investors Jason Fredette 508-621-4177 American Superconductor DATASOURCE: American Superconductor Corporation CONTACT: Rick Sheehy, +1-508-621-4454, , or Jason Fredette, +1-508-621-4177, both of American Superconductor Web site: http://www.amsuper.com/ http://www.aquila.com/

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