CONTACT INFORMATION

Alliance Data Systems Corporation
www.alliancedatasystems.com

DALLAS, TX., August 2, 2000 /PRNewswire/ - Alliance Data Systems Corporation today announced that it has successfully completed the conversion of NYSEG Solutions, Inc.'s electricity customer base to its complete set of customer relationship management (CRM) products and services.

NYSEG Solutions, Inc. is a retail energy marketing company providing low-cost electricity and natural gas to commercial, industrial and residential customers in upstate New York. NYSEG Solutions becomes the first full-service energy client of Alliance Data's newly-formed Utility Services line of business, created to serve customers in the emerging deregulated utilities industry.

With the successful implementation, NYSEG Solutions becomes one of the first retail energy companies to deploy an end-to-end CRM solution from a single source, designed to help it compete in a deregulated market.

Under its contract, Alliance Data Systems provides NYSEG Solutions an integrated suite of services to Acquire and retain a growing base of customers, including:

• A state-of-the-art customer information system designed for the deregulated industry
• Customer care tailored to meet NYSEG Solutions' needs
• Statement printing
• Flexible payment processing

Among Alliance Data's offerings is its "smart statement," a one-to-one marketing tool that permits the energy firm to rapidly change informational or marketing messages printed on customer statements.

NYSEG Solutions will gain access to alliance's other CRM services, which include customer acquisition, retention and loyalty programs, e-commerce solutions, database marketing and financial services.

"We've already tapped into alliance's expertise in customer acquisition programs, which has far exceeded our projections," said Carl A. Taylor, president of NYSEG Solutions, Inc. "By partnering with Alliance Data Systems, NYSEG Solutions can focus on our core business of providing low cost energy, while Alliance provides us customer relationship management expertise and related infrastructure that can accommodate the growth we expect to experience for years to come."

"We believe this suite of services, coupled with Alliance Data's extensive retail experience, will provide NYSEG Solutions a competitive edge as they tackle the challenges of a highly competitive environment," said Jim Anderson, president of Alliance's Utility Services business unit.

About NYSEG Solutions:
NYSEG Solutions is a subsidiary of Energy East Solutions, one of the fastest growing retail energy marketing companies with approximately 70,000 customers across seven states in the Northeast. Energy East Solutions is a subsidiary of Energy East Corporation (NYSE: NEG), a super-regional energy services and delivery company in the Northeast. Energy East is a leader in promoting competition and is committed to profitably growing its energy infrastructure.

Upon completion of its mergers with CMP Group, CTG Resources and Berkshire Energy Resources, Energy East will serve 2 million customers (1.4 million electricity and 600,000 natural gas) in upstate New York and New England.

About Alliance Data Systems:
Alliance Data Systems, long a major player in the retail marketplace, recently brought its expertise in targeting, acquiring and retaining profitable customers for its clients to the utilities industry. Based in Dallas, Alliance is a leading provider of electronic transaction services, credit services, and loyalty and database marketing services. It manages nearly 74 million consumer accounts and processes nearly two billion transactions annually. Alliance Data Systems employs approximately 5,600 associates at more than 20 locations in the United States, Canada and New Zealand. For more information about the company, visit the Web site www.alliancedatasystems.com.

SOURCE Alliance Data Systems Corporation.

# # #