Deals
& Doings
October
15, 2000
Customer
Care Initiatives
SoCalEd Offers
Efficiency Incentives. Southern California Edison, through its Savings
by Design program for assisting businesses and contractors with new construction
projects, is offering business customers cash incentives to incorporate
energy-efficiency strategies in building renovations.
UI Deploys
Online Load Management. United Illuminating Co. has deployed a web-based
energy management tool to deliver energy usage information and analysis
to major energy customers. The technology, Energy Profiler Online, is
provided by Energy Interactive, a provider of energy information systems
and services.
Pepco Launches Energy "Mall."
Pepco Energy Services has unveiled PowerChoice.com to provide residential
and business customers web access to energy and energy-related products
and services. Offerings include appliance service contracts, surge protection,
backup battery power, home generators, air conditioners, lighting products,
and energy-efficient windows, as well as "green" energy.
Co-op Establishes
Website. Nebraska energy cooperative Wheat Belt PPD has established
a website to provide its 4,500 customers with online customer service
including bill payment. The co-op worked with Professional Computer Systems
on the project.
Puget Sound
Energy Offers Contractor Referral.
Puget Sound Energy has launched the Enliance Program to refer customers
to qualified contractors for energy-related improvements. Customers may
access the program via the Enliance Hotline or the web.
Website Redesign
for TNMP. Texas-New Mexico Power Co. launched a redesigned website
in September offering up-to-date account information. The site also features
energy management information, an email link, and the TNMP cookbook.
Maine Suppliers
Label Energy. Maine's electric suppliers in August began mailing information
disclosure labels to their customers receiving standard offer service.
The labels, required by the Maine Public Utilities Commission, describe
the provider's electricity price, fuel sources, and associated air emissions.
Power Protection
Line From Allegheny Energy. Allegheny Energy Solutions, the subsidiary
of Allegheny Energy that invests in development of distributed generation
products, is offering a line of power protection devices for business
customers through a partnership with American Power Conversion.
KeySpan, TXU
Launch Home Management. KeySpan Corp. and TXU Energy Services in September
launched co-branded, customized myHomeKey.com sites and supporting marketing
campaigns. myHomeKey.com, a home management platform, links consumers
with more than 15,000 local service providers and vendors of major brand
appliances. The free site features six categories of offerings:
(1) home repair
and upkeep,
(2) home monitoring and
control,
(3) neighborhood and community notification,
(4) utility/energy services,
(5) purchased appliance and other home products, and
(6) move management.
KeySpan and TXU
Energy Services are the site's first energy services partner companies.
PowerTrust
Adds Free Internet. Internet-based energy supplier PowerTrust.com
has added free Internet service to its list of offerings that include
phone service and satellite TV. The free Internet service is provided
through a partnership with MillionEyes.com.
ConEd Joins
E-Bidding Exchange. ConEdison Solutions is selling energy online through
its participation in Energy.com's Energy Exchange, an electronic bidding
system for medium and large businesses. Through Energy Exchange, Northeast
businesses submit a single request for proposal (RFP) to all participating
energy suppliers in their region.
SUG Offers
Online Billing. Southern Union Gas, a division of Southern Union Co.,
on Sept. 1 began offering its Texas customers electronic bill payment
and presentment (EBP&P). SUG worked on the project with Servana, an Internet
services company specializing in relationships with energy utilities.
NHC Adds Cable
Service. National Home Connections LLC has formed an alliance with
Cox Communications to offer local phone, cable, and Internet services
in Omaha, Neb., and surrounding areas. NHC, a service of Move.com Group,
provides residential customers with utility connections and home services.
NiMo Signs
Reseller Agreement. Niagara Mohawk Energy Marketing Inc., an affiliate
of Niagara Mohawk Holdings, has entered into an agreement by which Essential.com
will resell its electricity supply in nine states throughout the Mid-Atlantic
and Northeast.
Online Billers
Multiply. Central Hudson Gas & Electric and Puget Sound Energy on
Sept. 15 went live with EBP&B through TransPoint's online service. Detroit
Edison is slated to offer the service to residential and small-business
customers early next year.
Puget Sound Energy
and Central Maine Power Co. will offer EBP&P through billserv.com Inc.
Customers will be able to pay bills on the energy company website, and
at bill-aggregation sites including those of banks and credit cards.
Power
Deals
UtiliCorp Energy
+ Hallmark. UtiliCorp Energy Management, part of the Aquila Energy
family of companies, has signed a three-year agreement with Hallmark Cards
Inc. to manage the multimillion-dollar energy budget for 17 of the company's
facilities.
NewEnergy +
Maine Consortium. Over 144 customers representing over 500 accounts
of Maine PowerOptions, a non-profit energy-purchasing consortium, have
selected AES Corp. subsidiary NewEnergy to supply their energy beginning
this month.
AmerenEnergy
+ Illinois Consortium. AmerenEnergy Marketing has entered into a power
supply agreement with the Illinois Energy Consortium, a not-for-profit
aggregator that supplies power for schools, colleges, and universities.
The contract covers 500 school facilities and 120 school districts.
Strategic Energy
+ Saks. Strategic Energy, an energy management consultant, has signed
an agreement with Saks Inc. to coordinate the power supply for the retailer's
Mission Viego, Calif., and western Pennsylvania locations.
Enron Energy
+ Starwood. Enron Energy Services, a subsidiary of Enron Corp., and
Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide have signed a 10-year energy management
contract valued at more than $1 billion. The agreement covers energy procurement
or supply, infrastructure management, and price stability for Starwood's
hotels, including Westin and Sheraton.
APP-Armstrong
+ Heinz. Americas Power Partners Inc. and Armstrong Service Inc. have
signed a multimillion-dollar, long-term contract with H.J. Heinz to own,
operate, maintain, and improve the utility plant and systems at its food
processing facility in Muscatine, Iowa.
Usource + Moog.
Usource LLC, a subsidiary of Unitil Corp., in August announced that
Moog Inc., a manufacturer of control systems and components, completed
a nine-month electric supply transaction through Usourceonline.com, saving
15 percent on the commodity.
Engage Energy
+ University of Michigan. Under the Detroit Edison Electric Choice
Program, the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor contracted with Engage Energy,
a joint venture of the Coastal Corp. and Westcoast Energy Inc., to supply
its electricity beginning Sept. 1.
Competitive
Markets
FPL Energy
Expands Gas Service. Beginning this fall and pending the approval
of state regulators, FPL Energy Services, an affiliate of Florida Power
& Light, will expand its natural gas service to include business customers
in additional metropolitan areas including Tampa, Orlando, Jacksonville,
Fort Lauderdale, Daytona Beach, and Miami Beach.
New Power
Co. Enters Northeast. The New Power Co., formed in May through an
alliance of IBM, AOL, and Enron, in August began acquiring residential
and small-business customers in New Jersey and Pennsylvania. The company
guarantees savings on the electricity portion of residential bills, and
offers frequent flier miles and other incentives for each dollar spent
on power.
MidAmerican
Sets Roots in Ohio. MidAmerican Energy Co., a subsidiary of MidAmerican
Energy Holdings Co., has opened an office in Beachwood, Ohio, in anticipation
of competing in the state's natural gas market when it opens Nov. 1, and
its electric market when it opens Jan. 1.
Energy America
Serves Ohio. Energy America, a joint venture of Sempra Energy and
Direct Energy Marketing Ltd., in mid-September began marketing natural
gas service to residents and small businesses in the East Ohio Gas territory.
MakeTheMove.com
Enters Ohio. Online relocation service MakeTheMove.com has launched
its service throughout Northeast Ohio. The free service allows relocating
households to set up, transfer, or cancel their electric, gas, phone,
cable, mail, and other household services. FirstEnergy Corp. is among
its local service providers.
Essential.com,
Select Energy Licensed in Md. Essential.com has been licensed to supply
electricity to small businesses and households in Maryland. Customers
can use the online marketplace to sign up for energy, wired and wireless
phone service, Internet access, and digital TV.
Maryland regulators
also licensed Select Energy Inc. to supply electricity in the state. Select
Energy initially will market its services to commercial and industrial
businesses in four service territories of Maryland.
New Business Lines
Dynegy Buys
into Communications. Dynegy has signed a letter of intent to acquire
Extant Inc., a privately held, Colorado-based communications technology
company. Extant provides communications businesses with the connectivity
and broadband capacity to exchange information and deliver voice, data,
and video services.
TXU Forms Telecom
Venture. TXU, with a group of institutional investors, has formed
a telecommunications joint venture, Pinnacle One. TXU subsidiary TXU Communications
contributed its telecom business to TXU Communications Ventures, a wholly
owned subsidiary of the Pinnacle One venture, in exchange for a 50 percent
interest in Pinnacle One. TXU Communications Ventures will pursue growth
opportunities in its telephone, fiber transport, and telecom services
businesses. TXU says the new structure allows it to monetize its investment
in telecom assets, strengthen its balance sheet, and minimize future earnings
dilution from the growth of its telecom business.
Minnesota Power
Becomes ALLETE. On Sept. 1 Minnesota Power Inc. changed its name to
ALLETE, reflecting that the company's non-utility revenue has outstripped
that of its core energy business. The company owns 55 automobile auction
businesses, as well as water utilities in Florida and the Carolinas.
SJI Enters
Metering Venture. South Jersey Industries and Measurement Solutions
International have agreed to form a joint venture, Measurement Solutions
International-Northeast LLC. The new company will provide metering and
measurement services to utilities and energy suppliers in the Northeast
United States.
Cinergy Buys
Into E-Business. Cinergy Corp. has acquired equity in Convergent Group.
The utility planned to purchase approximately 5 percent of Convergent's
common stock in two phases. The first investment of $10 million has been
completed. Convergent Group, a provider of e-business technology for utilities
and local governments, is working with Cinergy to implement its Digital
Utility system for online customer service.
Dominion Telecom
Extends Network. Dominion Telecom, a subsidiary of Dominion, and Metromedia
Fiber Network Inc., which deploys optical Internet infrastructure internationally,
have completed a multimillion-dollar transaction that will extend Dominion
Telecom's fiber network from Washington, D.C. to New York City. MFN will
grant Dominion Telecom exclusive use of the infrastructure for 20 years
with fiber routes serving Washington, Baltimore, Philadelphia, Newark,
and New York.
PG&E Creates
Venture Fund. PG&E Corp. has committed $500 million for venture capital
investments during the next five years through its new fund, Pacific Venture
Capital. The company plans to invest in communications companies, as well
as energy companies not based on fossil fuel generation.
Otter Tail
Sells Software Model. Otter Tail Power Co. has sold its software technology
for facilitating retail customer choice to Retx.com, an e-business provider
to the retail energy industry. The deal gives Retx.com exclusive rights
to the technology, with Otter Tail retaining certain royalty rights for
five years. Otter Tail will provide consulting services to develop and
deploy the technology.
Enron Broadband
Delivers Internet. Enron Broadband Services UK Ltd., a subsidiary
of Enron Corp., has signed a three-year agreement with British Telecommunications
PLC to give 1.4 million subscribers of BTopenworld, BT's international
Internet business, access to the Enron Intelligent Network. The Enron
Intelligent Network delivers high-bandwidth content to a large population
of simultaneous users by bypassing the congestion of the public Internet.
Hydro-Quebec
Enters Home Automation. Hydro-Quebec and Canadian home security company
MICROTEC have signed an agreement to establish a home automation business
venture. The new company is expected to begin operations in 2001. MICROTEC
is charged with startup activities, including bringing other partners
into the enterprise.
Studies & Reports
Investing in
Customer Satisfaction. Increasing investments in call center operations
at electric utilities has a greater impact on residential customer satisfaction
than the same dollars spent on system reliability, according to "BASICS",
a new study by Primen.
Among other findings,
the typical U.S. electric utility spends $7.79 per customer annually to
operate its call centers. Boosting those investments by $0.28 per year
improves the utility's overall customer satisfaction rating by 5 percentage
points. Achieving a similar 5 percentage point gain in satisfaction would
require the typical utility, which spends $172 per year, to increase its
investment in system reliability another $180 annually.
Business Customer
Satisfaction. Of the 70 largest U.S. utilities examined in the seventh
annual TQS Research national survey, which gauged customer satisfaction
for electric service to large business customers, Southern Company affiliates
Alabama Power and Georgia Power tied for the highest ranking. Savannah
Electric, Gulf Power, and Mississippi Power rounded out the list of five
companies with highest rankings. Factors considered in the survey include
reliability, price, energy efficiency, performance of the account representative,
and handling of complaints and inquiries.
Online Customer
Self-Service. According to a public website survey of 90 utilities,
Cap Gemini Ernst & Young found that the utility industry is expanding
its e-business capabilities, particularly with regard to customer interactions.
For example, new service sign-up is offered by 41 percent of the utilities
surveyed, up from 29 percent at the end of 1999. EBP&P is offered by half
of the utilities, also up from 29 percent in December 1999. The most significant
changes in e-commerce have been in customer self-service, specifically
for ordering products, requesting duplicate bills, and receiving online
pricing and quotes.
Online Energy
Retailing. "Utilities and e-Business," a report by Deloitte Consulting
and Deloitte & Touche, identifies six e-business developments that could
affect the utility sector during the next decade. Among these developments,
the report projects
(1) e-business
platforms will give market entrants a leverage against incumbent utilities;
(2) new web-based intermediaries will encourage price comparison among
consumers;
(3) customers will drive the design of energy offerings;
(4) as smart devices multiply, transactions involving energy usage will
be conducted via machine-to-machine Internet communication;
(5) consumers' privacy concerns with regard to e-business will force some
utilities to seek third-party endorsements and bargain for access to customer
data; and
(6) taxation will become confused as regulators hash out policies for
e-business.
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