CONTACT INFORMATION

Utilipro
www.utilipro.com

UtilConnect.com
www.utilconnect.com

ATLANTA, GA., May 26, 2000/PRNewswire/--, UtilConnect.com and Utilipro, Inc., today announced a strategic partnership to Offer end to end transaction processing, self service and e-CRM (customer relationship management) solutions to the regulated and unregulated energy industry players. UtilConnect.com is a fast growing Atlanta based application service provider focusing on internet-native self-service and e-CRM solutions. Utilipro, Inc., is a subsidiary of AGL Resources (the holding company for Atlanta Gas Light) serving the energy industry with full service outsourcing of back office functions.

Through this partnership, both companies will be offering a wide menu of options for energy providers nationwide from low cost e-business solutions to full service outsourcing of their front and back office functions. UtilConnect.com's internet-native technologies range from metering solutions, self service systems, real time billing and e-CRM front office solutions. Utilipro offerings range from superior back office, call center, billing, exception management functions and a state of the art data center capable of handling high volume, high speed internet traffic. This partnership will enable customers to conduct business online at the lowest cost. It is an efficient and cost effective customer care solution that will enable energy providers to enjoy a strategic e-business advantage at the lowest cost in the industry. Utilipro serves the California, Georgia, New Jersey and the Pennsylvania markets including the largest energy marketer in the southeast. UtilConnect.com serves a portfolio of energy clientele in the Pennsylvania, Georgia and the Texas markets.

Under the terms of the relationship, both UtilConnect.com and Utilipro will bring an enhanced menu of options to their respective clientele. UtilConnect.com's technology will enable Utilipro to provide lower cost technology options to its clients while Utilipro's scale and facilities will offer the upper end outsourcing solutions toUtilConnect.com's clientele. The combination of technology and services will provide the lowest cost e-business strategic advantage to the energy marketplace.

"From our names to our strategies, the similarities and the complementary nature of products and services offered, this is a partnership that was meant to be. UtilConnect.com's internet-native technology offerings give our clientele the lowest cost but highly scalable advantage.", said J. Andy Hopkins, President of Utilipro. "We will be deploying e-business solutions across the board in the next few months, giving our clientele the e-business strategic advantage at the lowest cost".

"We are pleased that this partnership can present the lowest transaction cost advantage to our clientele. Utilipro has been through the fire of serving the California, Georgia, Pennsylvania and New Jersey marketplaces. The combination of their experience and scale combined with our internet-native technology and cross industry background will give the energy space the cost advantage that has been missing. This partnership is very like the Star Alliance within the air travel industry. We look forward to adding unprecedented value to our clients, our stakeholders and the industry. This gives us the ability to Offer a unique unconditional 120 day up time guarantee at half the cost of comparable offerings prevalent in the industry. We look forward to serving the deregulating energy industry with our web-native suite of solutions", says Uday Karra, Chairman & CEO of UtilConnect.com.

"Having shepherded the Georgia deregulation and being close to both the companies since their inception, it gives us great pleasure to bring the depth and breadth of offerings, experiences and pedigree of the partnership to the benefit of the energy industry", commented Rick Woodward, President and COO of UtilConnect.com. "We see the problem in the industry as the current offerings' lack of scalability downward to fit the small players and the lack of cost effectiveness on the upward scalability for the big players. The exciting part of this partnership is the ability to scale the offerings and costs both downwards and upwards".

Several of the partnerships' offerings (self service, billing and e-CRM solutions) will be deployed for various clients over the next few weeks.

About Utilipro, Inc.
Utilipro, Inc., based in Atlanta, is an industry leader in outsourcing for both regulated and unregulated utility markets. Established in 1998, Utilipro offers Customer Management Services (enrollment, billing, call center) and implementation consulting designed to provide the highest levels of service for the customer base. Utilipro is a privately held company with AGL Resources (parent of Atlanta Gas Light Company, the largest gas distribution company in the southeastern United States) as the majority shareholder.

About UtilConnect.com
UtilConnect.com is an application service provider delivering the first web-native suite of software products (self-service, transaction exchange, billing and e-CRM) for the deregulating energy industry that allows utilities and energy marketers to perform at peak levels, paid for entirely through transaction fees.

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