Carrier Corporation Teams With MyHomeKey.com On Home Management E-business Initiative.

Business Editors

FARMINGTON, Conn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 31, 2000

Carrier Corporation is teaming up with MyHomeKey.com to provide homeowners with product information on heating and air conditioning systems and online scheduling of its independent dealers through the MyHomeKey.com web site.

MyHomeKey.com, a new Internet portal designed to change the way consumers manage their homes, offers homeowners "best value" home products and services through the local site. The product and service leads will be fulfilled by major international companies such as Carrier, in partnership with their distributor and dealer network. Carrier is the world's largest provider of heating and air conditioning equipment, and is a subsidiary of United Technologies Corporation (NYSE:UTX).

"Carrier Corporation is thrilled to be part of this e-business team that will allow homeowners to gain exposure to an outstanding line-up of industry-leading technology, products, services and a dealer base that is second to none," said Jon Ayers, president, Carrier Corporation.

Each MyHomeKey co-branded site will feature personalized information that could range from detailed energy consumption to announcements of neighborhood news or homeowners association schedules. This will allow homeowners to personalize and customize their use of the portal.

MyHomeKey.com is working with Carrier Corporation, CellNet Data Systems and Puget Sound Energy (PSE) in demonstrating the capability to provide utilities and their customers with two-way access to home thermostats through the PSE/MyHomeKey web site. Nearly 250 customers are using the site today to monitor and change settings on their Carrier Electronic Smart Thermostat through the Internet.

"This is just the first step, as MyHomeKey brings a new degree of remote control monitoring of most major systems to millions of homeowners," said John M. Seidl, Chairman of MyHomeKey. "They will be able to set their thermostat temperature, monitor home security systems and receive important alarms and status updates, all through a friendly web interface."

Earlier this week, MyHomeKey.com announced partnerships with TXU Energy Services (NYSE:TXU) of Dallas and KeySpan Energy (NYSE:KSE) of Long Island and Brooklyn.

TXU Energy Services is a unit of TXU - one of the largest investor-owned energy services companies in the world, with more than $40 billion in assets. TXU is a multinational leader in electric and natural gas services, merchant trading, energy marketing, telecommunications and other energy-related services. TXU delivers energy to nine million customers, primarily in Texas, the United Kingdom and continental Europe and Australia.

KeySpan Energy, with $6 billion in assets, is the parent company of Brooklyn Union, the nation's 4th largest natural gas utility, and provides management of the electric transmission and distribution system and customer services to the Long Island Power Authority's 1.1 million customers.

MyHomeKey, formerly MyHomeLink, is a personalized, Internet-based home management system that provides a comprehensive solution to the daily concerns and problems of homeowners - 24 hours a day, seven days a week. It puts quality service providers at the customers' fingertips, empowers almost instantaneous online scheduling of services, and delivers expert advise and one-stop shopping for most home products and services.