Allegheny Energy Cuts through Electric Price Confusion; 'Energizing Education' Adds Real Value for Allegheny Energy Customers.

GREENSBURG, Pa.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 26, 1998--Allegheny Energy today raised the stakes among electricity suppliers in the statewide competition for new customers by launching the Energizing Education program.

Through this unique community partnership, Allegheny Energy rewards consumers and businesses that choose it as their low-price electric generation supplier by donating educational tools and materials to schools in a 12-county pilot area of Pennsylvania.

"To date, more Pennsylvanians have chosen Allegheny Energy as their electric supplier than any other company," said Michael Dandrea, Director of Retail Mass Markets for the company. "At the same time, customers are telling us that the wide variety of offers and the complex details involved in choosing can make the decision-making process difficult.

"With the Energizing Education program, we demonstrate very clearly that there is a real difference between electric generation suppliers and a clear reason for choosing Allegheny Energy," Dandrea said. "More than 2 million households in Pennsylvania have the opportunity to save money on their energy bills and support nearly 2,000 schools throughout the state. We are excited about the fact that our customers can now enjoy the double satisfaction of having lower-cost electric service and contributing to the quality of education in their communities."

The Energizing Education program itself is simple. When customers of Duquesne Light, First Energy/Penn Power, and PECO Energy choose Allegheny Energy as their electric supplier, they begin generating Power Points every month based on their energy usage.

Customers simply assign their Power Points to one or two schools. There is nothing to sell, no money to collect, or merchandise to distribute, and there is no limit to the number of points each participating school can accumulate.

Schools then redeem the points for a wide range of educational resource material and learning tools, including computer hardware and software; teaching aids; and audio-visual, music, theater, and sports equipment. Allegheny Energy provides these to the schools without cost to either the customers or the schools.

"Based on the enthusiastic reception that customers are already giving Energizing Education, Allegheny Energy is the easy choice to make when it comes to selecting an electric generation supplier," said Dandrea.

To learn more about Energizing Education and to enroll your school in the program, call 1-888-AEChoice (1-888-232-4642).

Allegheny Energy, an energy supply business, markets competitive electric generation to retail and wholesale customers throughout Pennsylvania. Headquartered in Greensburg, Pa., it is a division of a Pennsylvania subsidiary of Allegheny Energy, Inc.

Allegheny Energy

MEDIA ALERT

Who?

-- Allegheny Energy raises the stakes and cuts through price

confusion in Pennsylvania ElectriChoice program.

What?

-- Introduces Energizing Education Program to more than 2 million

households in both eastern and western Pennsylvania.

-- This unique community partnership rewards consumers and

businesses that choose Allegheny Energy by donating educational

tools and materials to up to 2,000 Pennsylvania schools (K-12).

When?

-- The Energizing Education program begins immediately.

-- Business and residential customers are enrolling now to help

local schools throughout Pennsylvania.

Where?

-- The Energizing Education program will be available to customers

currently being served by Duquesne Light, First Energy/Penn

Power, and PECO Energy, in all or part of the following 12

counties: Allegheny, Beaver, Bucks, Butler, Chester, Crawford,

Delaware, Lawrence, Mercer, Montgomery, Philadelphia, and York.

Contact?

-- Janice Lantz, Communications Specialist @ Allegheny Energy

Telephone: [phone]