AT Atlantic Power Corporation

Alltel (NYSE: AT) today announced five appointments to the board of directors of Windstream Corporation, the new company to be formed through the spinoff of Alltel's landline business and merger with VALOR Communications Group. The new appointees are expected to qualify as independent board members under New York Stock Exchange listing requirements. "We are very pleased to have such an impressive and experienced group of business leaders serve on our board to complement the strong management team we have put together for the new company," said Jeff Gardner, president and CEO of Windstream Corporation. Alltel will appoint the new board members to Alltel Holding Corp., prior to the spinoff and merger, and the board of Alltel Holding Corp. will become the board of Windstream Corporation effective on the closing of the merger with VALOR. The board appointments include: Anthony J. de Nicola, 41, a general partner of Welsh, Carson, Anderson & Stowe and current chairman of the board of VALOR. He is also a member of the boards of directors of Centennial Communications Corp., ITC Deltacom, Inc., R.H. Donnelly and several private companies. Jeffrey T. Hinson, 51, a financial consultant and former executive vice president and chief financial officer of Univision Communications Inc., a Spanish language media company. He is also a director and chairman of the audit committee of Live Nation, which is a NYSE-listed company that was spun off by Clear Channel Communications, Inc., in December 2005. Judy K. Jones, 62, board member of the Lovelace Respiratory Research Institute and former associate vice president for strategic initiatives for the University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center and vice president for advancement for the University of New Mexico. William A. Montgomery, 57, a private investor and former chief executive officer of SA-SO Company, a distributor of municipal and traffic control products based in Dallas. He is also a director of Empress Hair Care, a private company that manufactures hair products based in Irving, Texas. Frank E. Reed, 71, former president and chief executive officer of CoreStates Philadelphia National Bank and Alltel board member from 1998 to 2005, where he was chairman of the audit committee from 1999 to 2005. He is also a director of Harleysville Group, Inc. One additional board member will be announced at a later date. As previously announced, Francis X. "Skip" Frantz, former executive vice president and secretary of Alltel, will serve as board chairman, and Dennis E. Foster, 65, a principal in Foster Thoroughbred Investments and former Alltel board member from 1998 through April 2006, will serve as lead director. Foster is also a director of YRCW (Yellow Roadway Corporation Worldwide) and NiSource Inc. Gardner also will serve on the Windstream board. On Dec. 9, Alltel announced that it would spin off its landline business and merge it with VALOR Communications Group. The combination will create a major voice, broadband and entertainment services company focused on the rural U.S. The new company expects to trade on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol "WIN" upon close of the transaction, which is expected to be completed by mid-year. About Windstream Communications After separating from Alltel and merging with VALOR Communications Group, Windstream Communications will provide voice, broadband and entertainment services to customers in 16 states. The company will have approximately 3.4 million access lines and about $3.4 billion in annual revenues. For more information, visit www.windstreamcomm.com. About Alltel Alltel is a customer-focused communications company with more than 15 million customers in 36 states and nearly $10 billion in annual revenues.