The Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, Section 404 (SOX 404), required public companies to report on the effectiveness of internal control over financial reporting. Management's responsibility is to establish and maintain effective internal controls to help deter fraud and to prevent inaccurate financial statements. Strong internal controls have always been a priority at UIL Holdings. However, we have spent this second year of SOX 404 compliance incorporating controls as part of our standard business processes focusing more on a "risk-based" approach. UIL Holdings' Board of Directors and Audit Committee, which oversee the financial reporting process, have also been active in the oversight of the internal control documentation milestones to ensure its completion and effectiveness. The officers of UIL Holdings have assessed the internal control environment for 2005 and certify the effectiveness and reliability of the internal control system. We have also added another level of certification to include functional business managers, accounting managers, and subsidiary business unit presidents and controllers. This SOX 404 certification, in conjunction with the opinion of our independent registered public accounting firm, PricewaterhouseCoopers, on the company's internal control over financial reporting should provide investors and shareowners with additional confidence regarding the integrity of our financial statements. Shareowners should also note that UIL Holdings included (1) the certifications of its CEO and CFO, required by Section 302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, as exhibits to its Annual Report on Form 10-K, which was filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on February 17, 2006, and (2) the certification of its CEO that UIL Holdings is in compliance with the corporate governance listing standards of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), as an exhibit to its Annual Written Affirmation, which was filed with the NYSE on June 10, 2005. |