FEATURE/Free Energy Cost Savings Advice for Spanish-Speaking Households and Businesses.

To download high-resolution, print-ready JPEG images, click on the thumbnail image above.

WARNING: these images are

very large (800K+)

Click here for caption

Energy Editors/Feature Editors/High-Tech Writers

FEATURE...Hispanic Heritage Month

NOTE TO MEDIA: Multimedia assets available

A photo is available at URL:

http://www.businesswire.com/cgi-bin/photo.cgi?pw.082703/bb4

WELLESLEY, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 27, 2003

Nexus Energy Software's Best of Breed Internet-Based Energy Management

Tools now available en Espanol in Several Major States

Nexus Energy Software (www.nexusenergy.com) announced it has released Spanish versions of EP Energy Management -- the most popular Internet-based home and business energy cost-saving software in North America.

The applications deliver an interactive experience that provides detailed, practical and customized advice for managing energy use cost. In addition to offering easy to understand advice, the software links users to energy company incentive programs or other offers to assist in meeting personal cost savings goals. A companion product that reaches consumers by mail rather than on the web is also now available in Spanish. Nexus provides these applications to utilities that in turn make them available to their customers.

The product is offered in "North American Spanish," and in some cases, customized for regional dialects.

Utilities in California, Texas and New Jersey are offering this free energy savings support in Spanish to reach a broader segment of their customer base. Several of the utilities also offer cash incentives and services to help their Spanish-speaking customers better manage their energy bills and save money.

"There is a tremendous need to communicate with residential and small to mid sized business owners/managers in the language they understand best," explained Harvey Michaels, Chairman and CEO of Nexus Energy Software. "In 2000, the Commerce Department reported that the number of Hispanic households with Internet access had nearly doubled since 1998. This is the fastest growing segment in our population, and utilities are looking for more effective ways to reach this important market. Research conducted by comScore indicates that U.S. Hispanic Web users are much more likely to live in larger households -- 39% of U.S. Hispanic online households contain five or more persons compared to only 18% for all online households. Larger households generally mean higher energy costs. This makes energy savings support for these consumers even more important."

EP Energy Management is part of Nexus' ENERGYprism product family, designed to help utilities improve communications with their customers, by helping their customers better understand and manage their bills. EP Energy Management shows users how their energy use compares to that of their peers, how they spend their energy dollars in their home or business, and what they can do to lower energy use and cost and improve comfort in the home or improve business productivity.

The Spanish version of the software for consumers can be found on Web sites of Los Angeles Department of Water & Power (www.ladwp.com/power/analysis/resindex_sp.htm), TXU Energy (www.txu.com/energyserv/resserv/espanol/default.asp) and, very soon, Pacific Gas and Electric (www.pge.com), Sacramento Municipal Utility District (www.smud.com), and several electric and gas companies in New Jersey, all of which also provide the application in English. The Spanish version will also shortly be available for business customers of Pacific Gas & Electric, Southern California Gas (www.socalgas.com), and Southern California Edison (www.sce.com).

About Nexus

Nexus Energy Software, Inc provides energy companies with software solutions that enhance customer communications, increase customer satisfaction, and reduce customer service costs. Nexus' applications help customers better understand and manage their bills and support customer self-service as well as call center operations. In addition to being available on the Internet, these tools can be delivered via compatible e-mail, PC and print options. As part of their efforts to reduce costs and improve customer satisfaction, more and more utilities are working with Nexus to upgrade their billing, customer service, and energy management applications. Nexus' solutions, which integrate easily with existing CRM and CIS systems, can be viewed at www.nexusenergy.com/demo.

Note: A photo (OR spreadsheet OR slideshow) is available at URL: http://www.businesswire.com/cgi-bin/photo.cgi?pw.082703/bb4.