Larry Bingaman Appointed Aquarion Senior Vice President

BRIDGEPORT — Larry L. Bingaman of Newtown has been appointed senior vice president, corporate relations and secretary of Aquarion Company, Aquarion president and Chief Executive Officer Richard K. Schmidt announced this week. The promotion is effective April 1.

Mr Bingaman’s promotion is one of several announced following the January 7 acquisition of Aquarion by the Kelda Group, plc, of Leeds, England. Bridgeport Hydraulic Company president and CEO James S. McInerney has been appointed Bridgeport Hydraulic Company Chairman, Aquarion executive vice president; Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer Janet M. Hansen has been named BHC president and CEO, and Mr Schmidt has been appointed president and CEO of Kelda Group Inc., the new US holding company for Kelda Group plc.

Mr Bingaman will continue as BHC’s vice president, corporate relations, and secretary. In his new role, he will be primarily responsible for financial community outreach, state, local and congressional government affairs, marketing communications, and all public and community relations programs at the Kelda US Inc. parent company as well as at subsidiary levels.

“Larry has made many valuable contributions as a member of the Aquarion senior management team, most recently through his support of Kelda’s acquisition of Aquarion,” Mr Schmidt said. “This promotion is also in recognition of Larry’s expanded communication and public affairs responsibilities to support Kelda’s expansion in the United States. It’s a pleasure to recognize his accomplishments in this manner.”

Mr Bingaman responded: “The past six months have marked a very exciting transition for Aquarion and BHC. I envision great things for the company as we continue to fulfill our stated mission to become the region’s service provider and employer of choice.”

Mr Bingaman joined Aquarion in 1990 as vice president, marketing and communications and assumed additional responsibilities as vice president, corporate relations and secretary at Aquarion and BHC in 1993. As corporate secretary, he was responsible for board-related matters, Securities Exchange Commission and New York Stock Exchange compliance reporting and shareholder services. He will continue to serve as director, vice president and secretary of various Aquarion subsidiaries.

Active in the community, Mr Bingaman is vice chairman of Save the Sound’s Board of Trustees and chairs its development committee. He is also vice president of the National Investor Relations Institute’s Fairfield County Chapter as well as vice president of the Fairfield County Corporate Secretaries Society. He also co-chairs the legislative committees of the Connecticut Water Works Association and the Bridgeport Regional Business Council.

Mr Bingaman graduated from California State University at Long Beach with a bachelor’s degree in business administration. He received an Executive MBA from the University of New Haven in 1992.

Prior to joining Aquarion, Mr Bingaman spent 15 years at Texaco, where he held various public relations positions of increasing responsibility in the areas of public, community, media, government and employee relations. In 1988, he accepted a post as corporate press relations manager for United Technologies, parent company of Sikorsky Aircraft. He later became Sikorsky’s communications director.

Aquarion’s principal business is public water supply. Through its BHC and Sea Cliff Water Company subsidiaries, it is one of the 10 largest investor-owned water utilities in the United States and serves 141,000 customers, or a population of more than 500,000 in 30 Connecticut and Long Island, NY communities. Other businesses include contract management of municipal water systems and timber processing.

Kelda, Aquarion’s parent, has annual revenues of $1.1 billion and operates in the United Kingdom and Europe. Its water and sewage business, Yorkshire Water Services, provides drinking water to approximately 1.9 million customers, or a population of 4.5 million, in the County of Yorkshire, England. It is one of the 10 largest water companies in the world. Yorkshire Water Services supplies its customers with 350 million gallons of water daily, treated at 112 water treatment facilities.