ALLETE Reports Third Quarter 2007 Earnings

ALLETE Inc. (NYSE: ALE) today reported third quarter 2007 earnings of 58 cents per share, on net income of $16.5 million and operating revenue of $200.8 million.

In the third quarter a year ago, earnings were 78 cents per share on net income of $21.8 million and operating revenue of $199.1 million.

Earnings from ALLETE's energy business segments were, in total, about the same in the third quarter of 2007 as they were in 2006.

ALLETE's investment in the American Transmission Company recorded net income of $1.9 million in the third quarter of 2007, compared to $0.6 million in the third quarter a year ago. ALLETE began investing in ATC in May of 2006, and that investment gradually grew throughout the year.

Regulated Utility net income of $13.0 million for the quarter was down from $13.7 million in 2006. Kilowatt-hour sales of electricity were about two percent lower than last year, and operations and maintenance expenses were higher due to a planned outage and storm recovery expenditures. These items were partially offset by a lower effective tax rate this year.

ALLETE's real estate income in the third quarter was $0.6 million compared with $5.1 million in the third quarter of 2006. ALLETE Chairman, President and CEO Don Shippar noted that the company's latest earnings guidance, issued in July, assumed real estate activity during the second half of 2007 would fall from levels recorded a year earlier due to difficult market conditions.

"ALLETE remains on track to meet our 2007 earnings expectation of $3.00 to $3.05 per share," Shippar said. Through the first three quarters of this year, ALLETE has earned $2.31 per share versus $1.95 for the same period in 2006.

ALLETE's corporate headquarters are located in Duluth, Minnesota. ALLETE provides energy services in the upper Midwest and has significant real estate holdings in Florida. More information about the company is available on ALLETE's Web site at www.allete.com.

The statements contained in this release and statements that ALLETE may make orally in connection with this release that are not historical facts, are forward-looking statements. Actual results may differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties, and investors are directed to the risks discussed in documents filed by ALLETE with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Investor Contact:
Tim Thorp
218-723-3953

tthorp@allete.com