Cayenta's Mainsaver EAM Maintains Hawaii's Kilauea Volcano.

Business Editors

SAN DIEGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 3, 2001

Puna Geothermal Venture (PGV) is located about 21 miles south of Hilo on the Big Island of Hawaii, along the Lower East Rift Zone of the Kilauea Volcano.

Geothermal fluid is brought to the surface through production wells, which tap into the resource at a depth of almost a mile. The fluid, which is composed of geothermal steam and brine, is separated in large separators.

The steam, along with its noncondensable gases, is routed to the power plant and used to produce 30 megawatts of electricity for more than 23,000 Big Island residents and visitors. Everything brought up from the resource area is later returned to the resource area. (For a full description of the various processes that take place at PGV, go to the "tour" at www.punageothermalventure.com.)

Currently, 10 electrical generating units, each with the capacity to produce 3,500 kilowatts of electricity, are employed. This quantity allows for operation/maintenance flexibility and for more efficient production of electrical power during the large load changes between day and night. As at any electric utility, maintenance is of extreme importance.

"Since the early '90s, we've used Cayenta's Mainsaver(R) Enterprise Asset Management (EAM) to help maintain PGV," related Kent McCue, plant engineer/maintenance manager.

"We use the work order, preventive maintenance, purchasing and inventory modules. The system obtains maintenance input, produces work orders and tracks work in process. It also provides a variety of reports, including work status, equipment availability, and cost and repair histories. Each piece of information is important when creating and executing a predictive, proactive maintenance program.

"When I arrive at work in the early morning, I receive the work orders that the night-shift operators have written concerning any broken equipment. My first task is to send out maintenance orders to our technicians to repair these parts or equipment. They will report back to the Mainsaver system what corrective measures were taken, what parts were used and how long it took to fix the problem. When finished, the system lets them know where to go and what to do next."

Preventive maintenance is very important at PGV. Once a month, the system generates an order to perform both vibration and oil analyses on the power skids, including the turbines, generators and their gearboxes. PGV knows what the levels should be. Based on the results of readings, PGV may or may not need to take one of the units down and change bearings or realign the skids before a failure occurs.

The purchasing module generates POs for both stocked and nonstocked items, special orders and services. It tracks open POs and generates a list of those that are past due. Most important, working in concert with the inventory module, the system ensures that PGV has parts and equipment when needed, including sufficient stock for scheduled projects. In addition, the utility always knows what stock levels are.

"We also use Equipment History a lot," McCue added. "These histories are very valuable. With this information, if something comes up, we can refer to what has happened with this piece of equipment in the past. Is this the first time? Is this a continuing problem? How did it get fixed before? Was that successful, and for how long? The answers to these questions allow us to determine when it is most cost- effective to fix something or replace it."

About Cayenta

Cayenta, a total service provider (TSP), provides software applications and services to customers to solve specific business problems. These services include providing information technology and business consulting services as well as the implementation, operation and support of software applications.

Cayenta's corporate headquarters and Network Operations Center are in San Diego, with regional offices in Vancouver, British Columbia; Reston, Va.; Orlando, Fla.; and Salt Lake City, with service offices across the United States. Cayenta delivers solutions to clients in the retail, manufacturing, trade-media, transportation and logistics and utility industries.

"Safe Harbor" statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995: The statements contained in this release that are not historical facts, including the company's outlook on the future performance of its core businesses and its growth strategies, are forward-looking statements that are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those set forth in or implied by forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include the company's entry into new commercial businesses, government contract procurement and termination risks, risks associated with acquiring other companies, including integration risks and other risks described in the company's Securities and Exchange Commission filings.