Extending a Helping Hand

While most of our community investments are carefully planned to optimize their positive impact, there are always times when we believe it crucial to act on short notice. Natural disasters in the United States prompted our quick response several times in 2008.

In the spring and early summer, floods swept across vast tracts in Missouri, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana and Wisconsin, uprooting residents and causing billions of dollars in property damage. Landowners adjacent to our Keystone pipeline right-of-way and our ANR Pipeline operations were affected. At the suggestion of Glenn Maddock, one of our U.S. Pipelines Central (USPC) employees, Community Investment immediately donated $70,000 to the American Red Cross to assist with relief efforts. “One way to measure a great company is by what they give back,” said Glenn. “This makes me pretty proud to be a part of this organization.”

In May of 2007 a tornado caused substantial damage to the City of Greenburg, Kansas (population 10,000), narrowly missing our ANR compressor station. With admirable determination, Greenburg residents began to rebuild. When they ran short of funds in 2008 for construction of a 14,000 square foot livestock pavilion at the Kiowa County Fairgrounds, TransCanada stepped in to finish the job. Gene West, a Kiowa County Commissioner, said “You have no idea how important this facility is to our community. This pavilion symbolizes the rebirth of this community.”

We also supported the work of the American Red Cross after Hurricane Ike wreaked havoc along the Gulf Coast in September. The third most destructive hurricane to make landfall in the United States, Hurricane Ike affected tens of thousands of people in 17 States in a matter of hours. With more than 400 employees and contractors in the Gulf Coast region, TransCanada was determined to assist. We did so by providing shelter and meals to the many homeless and by supporting the lengthy clean-up. Our employees assisted these efforts while securing our offshore platforms and relocating our Gas Control Services to a safe location north of Houston. Their swift actions—part of our Hurricane Response Plan—allowed us to service our customers without interruption. In all, our Gulf Coast employees handled a tough situation with the utmost professionalism and humanity.

In all, TransCanada donated $7.7 million through its Community Investment program in 2008.