Chesapeake Utilities Corporation Welcomes William B. Zipf as Vice President of Eastern Shore Natural Gas Company

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Jan 24, 2011, 08:59 ET

DOVER, Del., Jan. 24, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Stephen C. Thompson, Senior Vice President of Chesapeake Utilities Corporation (NYSE: CPK), announced today that William B. Zipf has joined the Company as Vice President of Eastern Shore Natural Gas Company (Eastern Shore).

Mr. Zipf will have ultimate responsibility for all day-to-day activities of the Eastern Shore natural gas transmission system, setting the strategic direction for Eastern Shore and the execution of its future growth initiatives. He will oversee all areas of the business including pipeline system operation, engineering, transportation services administration, pricing and regulation, pipeline integrity, budgeting and financial analysis.

"We are extremely fortunate to have Will join Eastern Shore in this key leadership role," said Mr. Thompson. "He brings a tremendous amount of energy industry experience to Chesapeake and has demonstrated a proven track record of success in commercial and facility operations -- as well as project development within global energy markets."

Mr. Zipf comes to Chesapeake from White Energy's North American Subsidiary in Rockville, Maryland where he was Vice President of Marketing and Development, leading the technology transfer efforts from the Australian parent company to the U.S. Subsidiary, its partners and consultants. Prior to that, he held various positions with NRG Energy of Princeton, New Jersey including Director of Origination, Manager of Structured Pricing & Redevelopment and Manager of Risk Analytics. He has also held other positions with NRG Energy, BDM Consulting Engineers and Koch Industries, all located in Minnesota and DTE Energy in Ann Arbor, MI.

Mr. Zipf takes over the position held by Elaine Bittner, former Vice President of Eastern Shore. Mrs. Bittner was promoted to Vice President, Strategic Development for Chesapeake in June. In her current role, she is in charge of oversight and coordination of strategic planning and corporate development, new business opportunities, strategic governmental affairs, communications and human resources.

"We were selective in our recruiting process, ensuring that we found the right person for this important position within the Company," added Mr. Thompson. "We are confident we will have a smooth transition as Elaine fully shifts into her role as Vice President of Strategic Development and Will assumes his new position at Eastern Shore."

With over fifteen years of energy experience, Mr. Zipf graduated from Texas A&M University with a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering and received his MBA from the University of Minnesota's Carlson School of Management. He has also earned certifications as a Mechanical Engineer (P.E.) and a Financial Risk Manager (FRM).

Eastern Shore Natural Gas Company is the interstate natural gas pipeline subsidiary of Chesapeake Utilities Corporation, both headquartered in Dover, DE. Eastern Shore currently owns and operates 384 miles of high-pressure interstate pipeline on the Delmarva Peninsula and has been providing safe, reliable, efficient and economical natural gas service to customers since 1959. Eastern Shore owns and operates the only transmission pipeline south of the Chesapeake and Delaware Canal.

Chesapeake Utilities Corporation is a diversified utility company engaged in natural gas distribution, transmission and marketing; electric distribution; propane distribution and wholesale marketing; advanced information services and other related businesses. Information about Chesapeake Utilities Corporation and the Chesapeake family of businesses is available at http://www.chpk.com.