Utility Partners Announces Incorporation of MITS Corporation Outage Management and e-Business Capabilities in its Mobile Data Offerings.

Business Editors

TAMPA, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 24, 2000

As the next step in its previously disclosed Distribution Resource Management product initiative, Utility Partners, Inc. has announced that its MobileUP service-order field processing system will be incorporating additional outage management and e-business capabilities present in the MITS suite of software solutions. This action will offer UP's utility customers an even richer and seamless mobile-dispatch, field-service solution that includes a full-functioned outage management system, as well as customer access to order creation and inquiry capabilities through the Internet. Utility Partners is working with Melbourne, Australia based MITS on an overall product as well as specific-client basis to evaluate areas where synergies between the two product sets can best be achieved. In turn, MITS will be distributing UP's product line throughout its Pacific Rim territory.

MobileUP enables field service dispatchers and technicians to handle a wide range of order types, including outage, service, inspection, maintenance, and construction orders. All work is transmitted to vehicle-mounted mobile data terminals (MDTs) for reference by utility service technicians. MobileUP enhances operations by providing service technicians with the technology tools necessary to work and complete orders in the field. Technicians can access complete customer and premise information from the utility's databases, and can stay in constant contact with the dispatch office and call center to receive and relay order and/or message information as needed. UP in fourth quarter 1999 announced the addition of thin client and WEB access capabilities to its Mobile Work suite of products.

MITS offers its Outage Manage System DMS to utilities in the Pacific Rim, and in North America through its EPIC partnership. The system provides flexible, comprehensive integration with a utility's operational building block systems to deliver an overall enterprise solution. DMS enables rapid recognition of the location of problems, work crews, customers affected, etc. It is designed to integrate with different GIS, SCADA, Customer, Asset, and Maintenance Management products. Information is presented to users seamlessly through a common graphical user interface. It can also be supplied with Load Management and Profiling, Outage and Power Analyzer, and Emergency Load Shed Modules that provide decision support capability.

MITS e-business capabilities have been focused on thin client and consumer-based WEB access for the entry of customer service orders and the viewing of statuses thereof via the Internet. MITS real-world e-business experience with Australian utilities is being joined with UP's extensive North American utility business practices and previously announced technology developments in thin client and WEB access technology.

The combination of MobileUP and the MITS products will provide customer utilities with an even more powerful computer-aided dispatch, outage, and field processing tool, and will for the first time allow end-user customers to enter and access critical order information.

"We have found that the outage and customer access capability of the MITS products, along with the versatility and in-field capability of Utility Partners' MobileUP technology, naturally suited each other as companion products. Together they will make up a dynamic product offering in today's utility-products marketplace as part of our Distribution Resources Management product," said Steven Radice, Vice President of Marketing for Utility Partners.

Utility Partners, Inc. provides software solutions exclusively for the gas, electric and water utility industries, including mobile computing, work management and gas management. The company's customer list includes utilities throughout the United States, Europe and Canada. For more information call Lori Palmer at 1-800-280-8828, or email [e-mail]. You can also visit the company's Website at www.utilpart.com.