APOGEE Interactive Inc. Applies Years of Experience to Build Extensive, User-Friendly Website for United Power.

ATLANTA -- APOGEE Interactive Inc., a nationwide leader in strategic online solutions for the energy industry, recently completed an extensive website redesign for United Power, Inc., a rural electric cooperative serving 120,000 consumers.

Based in Brighton, Colorado, United Power tapped APOGEE to assist in revising their website in hopes of making it more user-friendly and functional. "We knew we needed to revamp the website because a lot more people had been going to our site and couldn't always find what they needed," said Heidi Storz, marketing and communications coordinator for United Power. "People wanted more information about green energy and energy saving tips, and we wanted to make those things available and easier to find."

Along with United Power's External Affairs Department, Storz and Communications Specialist Laurel Eller set about reassessing the cooperative's website (www.unitedpower.com). "We worked with United Power, determined what they wanted and guided the process," said APOGEE Technology Consultant Dan Lockman. "They edited the content and we did all the technical work. We build websites all over the country, and the one for United Power is one of the most extensive electric cooperative websites we've ever built. It's highly functional and puts to use many of the techniques we've perfected over the years. Also, the fact that APOGEE only works with the energy industry is a bonus to our clients. We understand their business and their consumers' needs, and have already built the forms and perfected the applications utility websites need so we can save them money."

A big part of the project, Lockman and Storz agree, was upgrading the site's functionality. "We did the work on the front end, and APOGEE made the site easy to navigate," said Storz. "The backend has been a real bonus; they've given us an interface that makes it easy to update information on the site, whether I'm posting new press releases or the Human Resources Department is posting job openings."

Lockman said the key to an oft-visited website is making it well-organized and user-friendly, a goal APOGEE Interactive seeks to meet with each client they serve. Plus, said Storz, the price was right. "This is the third redevelopment of our website and this was by far our least expensive and most successful venture," she said. "We got more of what we wanted and paid a lot less for it; I can't rave enough about that."

Cost savings continue at electric cooperatives each time their websites are visited, according to Lockman. "If a consumer calls the office or comes through the drive-thru window, it takes time for an individual to handle the transaction, and that costs dollars," he said. "Members who self-service at the co-op website can do the same things -- look up their account, pay bills and learn how to conserve energy -- and it costs pennies. Just like airlines and banks have learned, letting customers access their accounts and perform transactions on-line saves money and increases customer satisfaction."

APOGEE Interactive, Inc. (www.apogee.net) is a leading provider of online solutions for the energy industry. Headquartered in Atlanta, Apogee has helped pioneer interactive media and online applications at more than 300 utilities nationwide since 1994. Today, Apogee's Web-based energy efficiency, energy education and energy management content and tools reach millions of energy consumers daily. The company's clients include a wide range of investor-owned, municipal and cooperative utilities such as American Electric Power (NYSE: AEP), Entergy (NYSE: ETR), FPL (NYSE: FPL), TVA, LCEC and Jackson EMC. The company also provides eLearning systems, call center programs and demand response platforms to utilities and their trade associations.

United Power, your Touchstone Energy Partner[R], is a rural electric cooperative providing electricity to more than 62,000 homes and businesses on Colorado's northern front range.