EIF Group Invests US$5 Million in National Water & Power, Inc.

Business Editors

BOSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 21, 2001

Energy Investors Funds Group (EIF Group), part of Dresdner Kleinwort Capital (DrKC), and a leading private equity investor in the global energy and utilities sector, is pleased to announce its US$5 million equity investment in National Water & Power, Inc. (NWP). NWP is the leading U.S. provider of utility billing services and customer information systems (CIS) software for utilities.

NWP, formed in 1995, provides a complete range of billing and customer management solutions related to utility services such as electric, gas, water and waste-water. NWP consists of two closely related businesses; NWPB, which focuses on the utility sub-metering and outsourced billing market and Open-c Solutions, which focuses on the utility CIS software business.

The total deal value is US$15 million with additional funding provided by DQE Enterprises, Inc. (a subsidiary of utility DQE, Inc.), Endeavor Capital Management LLC., Kline Hawkes & Co., and Ralph Wilson Equity Fund. EIF Group was advised by Chadbourne & Parke LLP (New York office), NWP was advised by O'Melveny & Myers (Los Angeles office). NWP will use the investment to fund business development opportunities. In addition, Open-c Solutions will use the proceeds to develop additional components for its customer care and billing software Open-cIS(TM). Andrew Schroeder, Partner, EIF Group and Director, DrKC, will join the Board of Directors.

Commenting today on the investment, Robert Sherman, President at NWP said: "We are delighted to have gained support from a leading private equity investor. EIF Group's financial and utility sector expertise will be a welcome addition to our Board. We are looking forward to employing these funds to take both businesses to the next level."

Terry Darby, Managing Partner, EIF Group and Managing Director, DrKC, added: "NWP has a first-class management team that has years of operating and billing system experience and a history of developing private enterprises and creating significant shareholder value. The combination of NWP's stable billing services business and its superior CIS software has positioned NWP to fully capitalize on utility industry deregulation."

Notes for editors:

About NWP

NWP, formed in 1995, is based in Santa Ana, California and provides a complete range of billing and customer management solutions related to utility services such as electric, gas, water and wastewater. NWP consists of two closely related businesses; one focused on the utility sub-metering and outsourced billing market (NWPB) and the second on the utility CIS software business (Open-c Solutions). NWPB provides a wide variety of services including meter installation, meter reading, data processing, and customer service and collection. Open-c's software product, Open-cIS(TM) is a next generation Customer Information System offered as a supported software license and as an application service. Major customers include Wisconsin Public Service and DQE, Inc.

About EIF Group

Energy Investors Funds Group (EIF Group) was founded in 1987 as the first specialized U.S. private equity fund manager dedicated exclusively to the independent power (IPP) and electric utility industry. EIF Group manages over $740 million of capital in portfolios containing more than 54 diversified investments, with a combined underlying asset value exceeding $4.5 billion. In December 2000, Dresdner Kleinwort Capital (DrKC) acquired EIF Group, which today comprises 31 investment, engineering, analytical, financial and legal professionals with extensive experience in the development, evaluation and financing of global energy and utility investments.

EIF manages a series of funds that provide equity capital to the global power and utilities sector, including:

- Energy Investors Fund, L.P. (closed October 1989)

- Energy Investors Fund II, L.P. (closed September 1993)

- Project Finance Fund III, L.P. (closed August 1997)

- Caribbean Basin Power Fund Ltd (closed December 1999)

- Central and Eastern Europe Power Fund (closed June 2001)

- Renewable Energy & Energy Efficiency Fund for Emerging Markets, Ltd.

- United States Power Fund, L.P.

Dresdner Kleinwort Capital (DrKC) is the new brand name (introduced in January 2001) for Dresdner Kleinwort Benson Private Equity. DrKC is the sole private equity business of Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein, the Investment Banking division of the Dresdner Bank Group.

Dresdner Kleinwort Capital manages Euro 4.7 billion in equity and mezzanine funds under direct and co-advisory management in Western and Central Europe, the U.S., Asia and Latin America. DrKC invests in three primary segments: mid-market expansion capital and buyout, venture capital and fund of funds investing.