GPU Energy selects Monroe Township as first pilot program customer.

MORRISTOWN, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 20, 1996--GPU Energy has announced the selection of Monroe Township, Middlesex County as the first participant in a pilot program to provide customer choice in the electric utility industry.

While there can be no guarantee of a specific percentage of savings on energy costs, customers in the township could see some savings on their costs. Any projected savings would result from the ability of participants to select their energy provider and to have access to the bulk power market.

The selection of Monroe Township for the program must first be approved by the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities (BPU). The company plans to file its plan with the board no later than Dec. 1.

GPU Energy is the only New Jersey electric utility which has come out in support of a pilot program which would offer some form of customer choice relating to the selection of an energy provider. In testimony before BPU last week, GPU Energy vice president-corporate affairs Glenn Steiger outlined the company's transition plan, which focused on providing full customer choice and offered a timeline which included the pilot program.

"GPU Energy has had ongoing discussions with Monroe Township concerning options for reducing energy costs for our customers in Monroe," Steiger said. "We are very excited about the prospects of pulling Monroe in as the first pilot program community. GPU Energy is on record with the BPU in support of full customer choice and the implementation of a pilot program as the industry transitions to competition. We had already planned to submit a plan for the pilot program to the BPU by the end of the year, now that plan will include Monroe Township as the first community.

"We respect Mayor Pucci's efforts on behalf of his constituents to address a concern they had. The dialogue we had was cooperative and I think educational for both sides. And the result is an agreement that puts Monroe in the forefront of this changing industry," Steiger continued.

Under the terms of the agreement signed last night at the Monroe Township Council meeting, all customers of GPU Energy in Monroe Township will be allowed to participate in the pilot program.

"It is our hope that the BPU will move quickly on approving the plan, once it's submitted by GPU Energy," Steiger continued. "An integral part of the effective transition to competition is the implementation of a true customer choice pilot program in an appropriate municipality. There's no reason to delay the start of a pilot program. The BPU has indicated that it is interested in this strategy, let's move forward and use the results of this first pilot program as the guide for further expansion of the concept."

Monroe Township had been exploring the possibility of establishing its own municipal electric system, a step GPU Energy opposed because of the changes currently taking place in the industry, which includes the move to full customer choice.

CONTACT: GPU Energy, Morristown

Donna Rovins, 201/455-8408