Excelergy Launches Retail Energy Industry's First Internet Transaction Hub; eXACThub Internet Site Reduces Cost and Complexity of Business to Business Transactions.

Business/Energy Editors

CAMBRIDGE, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 11, 2000

Excelergy Corporation, the customer care and billing technology leader for the deregulated energy industry, today announced the launch of eXACThub, an Internet-based clearinghouse for all transactions among energy participants in the deregulated retail energy market. eXACThub is the first Internet hub for the deregulated energy industry that enables secure communications, access to information and robust transactions among all energy participants.

With the majority of all energy transactions predicted to take place over the Internet by the middle of the decade, Excelergy is making energy choice simpler and more cost-effective for everyone. The energy transaction management part of the deregulated market is estimated to be worth $1 billion per year.

"It is exciting to see eXACThub released as the first Internet clearinghouse for the retail energy industry," said Karl Jessen, director of Energy & Internet Strategies at the Yankee Group. "For competition to succeed, the use of proprietary VANs (value-added networks) will have to be replaced by the Internet, and eXACThub is the first step."

Powered by Excelergy's trading partner management software, eXACThub allows distribution companies, energy service providers, meter reading agents and any other energy participant to communicate more efficiently and reliably with one another. The service is now available at www.exacthub.com.

"Our new eXACThub allows any energy marketer with a browser to streamline customer acquisition nationwide," said Philippe Frangules, vice president of eCommerce at Excelergy. "Today, this free service makes it easier to switch customers to a new supplier. It will soon enable monthly transactions including energy usage and payment information based upon open, non-proprietary communication. This will foster a more competitive retail energy industry."

Using an Internet Explorer 5 browser, energy suppliers or designated agents can use eXACThub to fill out standard enrollment forms for new customers. The customer information is then stored and retrieved from eXACThub using the energy industry's XML (eXtensible Markup Language) standard format.(1) Any customer information system able to process the industry standard XML can therefore use eXACThub to automate its entire customer acquisition process.

"eXACThub provides a safe, secure method for energy suppliers and local distribution companies to share information," said Chris Cazer, vice president of engineering at Excelergy. "The dialogs and transactions are secured via secured socket layer (SSL), the standard Internet security solution. Security will be key as businesses distribute processing throughout the world."

Compared to manual processing, eXACThub's processing of new customer enrollment can take place in significantly less time and with fewer errors. This electronic processing speeds access to the information while reducing the time and cost of customer acquisition. eXACThub, used in conjunction with Excelergy's advanced billing software ABP 3000, seamlessly processes customer files by automatically exchanging required information with the local distribution companies and enrolling the customer in the ABP 3000 customer information system.

While Excelergy already offers e-ChoiceNet, an Internet site that simplifies the interaction between energy buyers (end-use customers) and sellers (suppliers) for retail energy procurement, eXACThub streamlines the business to business transactions among the energy participants (suppliers and distribution companies).

Excelergy is the deregulating energy marketplace's leading provider of Web-based customer information and transaction management technology. From developing innovative billing software platforms to publishing the retail energy industry's first XML standards to offering e-ChoiceNet, an auction site for retail energy procurement, Excelergy is giving energy companies a competitive advantage in the New Energy Economy.(2) Headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts, Excelergy has offices in Atlanta, GA and Santa Monica, CA and over 100 employees. More information is available at www.excelergy.com.

(1) PIPE (Partner Interface Process for Energy) has been published as the retail energy industry's standard XML format.

(2) New Energy Economy: Emerging from the nationwide deregulation of the electricity and gas industries, the deregulated retail energy market is estimated to be more than $300 billion in the U.S. alone by 2005. This energy economy is spawning new technologies, new companies and increased competition for customers who will soon be able to shop online for their gas and electricity. Central to the New Energy Economy is the critical need for knowledge and information management systems and tools dedicated to deregulation.