Convergent Group Retained by Northeast Utilities for Business Transformation Project; Utility Seeks Improved Customer Service And More Efficient Operations.

Business Editors

DENVER--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 9, 2001

Convergent Group Corporation announced today that it has signed a new contract with Northeast Utilities (NYSE:NU) for systems integration services aimed at helping to position the energy company as a leader in the new, digital economy.

Under the new contract, Convergent Group initially will deploy the first component of its Digital Utility(SM) Model Office(TM), which is the technology framework used by the firm to transform utilities into digital enterprises. It combines services, methodologies and technologies for front- and back-office applications with best-in-class solutions for energy delivery.

Headquartered in Berlin, Conn., Northeast Utilities operates New England's largest energy delivery system, with $5.9 billion in annual revenues and more than $10 billion in assets. The company serves approximately 1.77 million electric customers in Connecticut, New Hampshire and Massachusetts and 187,000 natural gas customers in Connecticut, and is one of the largest competitive energy suppliers in New England.

As part of its $6.5 million contract with Northeast Utilities, Convergent Group will provide systems integration and consulting services to migrate the utility's current spatial information management system to a Convergent Group Model Office platform utilizing its Energy Network Object Model (ENOM). ENOM is a comprehensive collection of utility-appropriate objects, including electric and gas distribution and transmission network objects, their state (in the form of object attributes), and their behavior. From a utility enterprise perspective, ENOM underpins Model Office applications such as work design, asset management, work management, outage management, mobile work force management, engineering analysis and distribution planning.

The current contract with Northeast Utilities encompasses deployment of ENOM, along with a GE Smallworld-based asset management system and data migration services. This business transformation contract also includes development of a three- to five-year strategic implementation roadmap for energy delivery enterprise implementation.

"The installation of ENOM and the GE Smallworld asset management system will help Northeast Utilities take a big step forward in the integration of their energy delivery business processes across the entire enterprise," noted Convergent Group Vice President Tom Van Denover. "A modern asset system is the beginning of standardization among the utility's energy companies. ENOM will enable the integration of other energy delivery applications and their immediate enterprise-wide integration."

"We are very excited about a partnership with Convergent Group," said William E. McEvoy, Information Technology Account Manager, Enterprise Energy Delivery Systems, for Northeast Utilities. "This project will not only allow us to modernize our existing GIS system, but will lay a strong foundation for us to integrate our existing core business systems. We believe one of the key success factors for us to become successful in this rapidly changing utility world will be establishing strong technology partnerships. Between Convergent Group's reputation for success and ENOM as our technology foundation for the future, we are well positioned to enter the age of the digital utility!"

About Convergent Group

Convergent Group, a Schlumberger company, is a global leader in the new energy marketplace and the premier provider of end-to-end business transformation solutions that span the energy value chain, from the customer, to energy delivery, to the energy trading exchange and retail services. The company combines its strategy and implementation expertise, proven business process models, consulting and systems integration services, and deep subject matter expertise with the world's best technologies to address the energy market's mission-critical business needs.

Founded in 1985, the company engineers, builds and manages digital business solutions that allow utilities to transform themselves into digital business enterprises where employees, contractors and customers can transact business on a real-time basis using traditional and blended media channels, including the Internet.

The company combines existing and emerging digital technologies and proprietary solution models with acute subject matter expertise, focusing on mission-critical solutions that help energy companies increase revenues, reduce costs, improve customer service, enhance service reliability, improve resource management and leverage information assets. Convergent Group calls its strategic blueprint to enable utilities to transform their business model into digital business enterprises the Digital Utility.