Atmos Energy Corporation Names John A. Paris to Assume Additional Duti

    Business Editors/Energy Editors

    DALLAS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 26, 2005--Atmos Energy Corporation (NYSE:ATO), one of the country's largest natural gas utilities, said today that John A. Paris, president of the company's Kentucky Division, headquartered in Owensboro, Ky., has been named to the additional duties of president of its Mid-States Division, headquartered in Franklin, Tenn. Paris succeeds Tom R. Blose Jr., who will retire on January 31, after more than 25 years with Atmos Energy and its predecessors.
    Paris, 41, was named president of the Kentucky Division in June 2001. He joined Atmos Energy in 1985 and held numerous positions in operations, marketing and engineering. Before moving to the Kentucky Division, he was vice president of operations for the company's Colorado-Kansas Division, headquartered in Denver.
    Besides his strong background in the natural gas industry, Paris is active in community affairs. He has served as chairman of the Greater Owensboro Economic Development Corporation. He is currently involved with RiverPark Center of Owensboro, the United Way of the Ohio Valley, Associated Industries of Kentucky, the Owensboro Museum of Fine Art, American Heart Association and March of Dimes.
    Paris is a graduate of Berea College in Berea, Ky. He is married and the father of three children.
    Atmos Energy Corporation, headquartered in Dallas, is the largest natural gas-only distributor in the United States, serving about 3.1 million utility customers. Atmos Energy's utility operations serve more than 1,500 communities in 12 states from the Blue Ridge Mountains in the East to the Rocky Mountains in the West. Atmos Energy's nonutility operations, organized under Atmos Energy Holdings, Inc., operate in 18 states. They provide natural gas marketing and procurement services to industrial, commercial and municipal customers and manage company-owned natural gas storage and pipeline assets, including one of the largest intrastate natural gas pipelines in Texas. For more information, visit www.atmosenergy.com.
    The Mid-States Division of Atmos Energy, headquartered in Franklin, Tenn., serves more than 311,000 natural gas utility customers in Georgia, Illinois, Iowa, Missouri, Tennessee and Virginia.
    The Kentucky Division of Atmos Energy Corporation, based in Owensboro, Kentucky, serves approximately 180,000 natural gas utility customers in central and western Kentucky.

--30--BD/da*

CONTACT: Atmos Energy Corporation, Dallas Media Contact: Gerald Hunter, 972-855-3116 or Analysts Contact: Susan Kappes, 972-855-3729

KEYWORD: TEXAS TENNESSEE KENTUCKY INDUSTRY KEYWORD: OIL/GAS ENERGY MANAGEMENT CHANGES SOURCE: Atmos Energy Corporation

Copyright Business Wire 2005