CONTACT INFORMATION

Arizona Electric
www.citizensaz.com

ORCOM

BEND, OR. October 30, 2000 - Arizona Electric and Orcom Solutions, Inc. Today announced the signing of an Application Service Provider (ASP) agreement under which Orcom will provide Arizona Electric with a deregulation-ready solution for its customer information and billing needs, as well as key Business Process Management (BPM) services.

Motivated by deregulation and a desire topartner with a company that specializes in the services provided, Arizona Electric, a Citizens Communications company, has entered into this seven-year partnership with Orcom Solutions toposition itself to meet the challenges impacting the utility industry.

Under the scope of this agreement, Orcom will provide Arizona Electric with access to its Enterprise Customer Information System (CIS), billing, credit and collections and remittance, as well as provide the gateway technology needed toenable the company tooperate in a deregulated environment. Arizona Electric currently has approximately 80,000 customers in the Kingman, Lake Havasu, and Santa Cruz County areas. Citizens also provides electric services to20,000 customers in Vermont, a state also considering opening its electric industry.

"Orcom not only offers the technology and expertise needed tooperate in deregulated markets, its ASP approach reduces our capital investment and risk while guaranteeing performance," said Dan McCarthy, Vice President of Arizona Energy Operations. "I can save my company money, guarantee the results and meet my deregulation timelines—not a difficult decision."

"We have to Move rather aggressively," said Tom Ferry, Director of Electric Operations, Arizona Electric. "Our service territory will open for competition on May 1, 2001. As the Utility Distribution Company, we are responsible for certifying the Energy Service Providers that wish tooperate in our territory. This means that our systems and processes have to be prepared well in advance of market opening. Orcom has significant deregulation experience and a proven deregulation product that will help us move quickly and confidently to Support an open market."

In July of this year, Orcom announced an ASP contract with Arizona Gas and Colorado Gas -- also members of Citizens Communications-- toperform a fast-track ASP implementation. That implementation began on July 24, 2000 and is on track for a November 27, 2000 go-live. "toaccomplish this127-day implementation requires a rock solid implementation approach," said Brian Herzog, Arizona Gas Project Manager. "We have excellent people on both sides of the project and are operating under a project approach, the Solution Delivery Method, that ensures a well organized project. We are pleased toreport that we will meet our timeline and were happy torecommend Orcom to one of our sister companies."

"We are excited that Arizona Electric has realized the inherent value of our offering and look forward toworking closely with another member of the Citizens Communications team," said Tim Pisula, CEO, Orcom Solutions, Inc. "Our ASP approach, our deregulation-ready product and our implementation strategy are all being brought to bear to help Arizona Electric quickly meet its business objectives. We are extremely pleased with this growing partnership."

About Arizona Electric
Arizona Electric, owned by Citizens Communications, formerly known as Citizens Utilities, provides electricity to approximately 80,000 customers in the state of Arizona and more than 20,000 customers in the state of Vermont. The company is dedicated to finding new ways to provide quality service to their customers. For additional information about Arizona Electric, visit its web site at www.citizensaz.com.

About Orcom Solutions
Orcom Solutions, Inc., is the premier Application Service Provider (ASP) of billing and customer care solutions, systems integration and outsourcing services to the utility and energy industries.

With more than 1.2 million outsourced bills, Orcom is the largest ASP for utility and energy bills in the industry. Headquartered in Bend, Oregon, with an office in Denver, Colorado, and a service delivery facility in Scottsbluff, Nebraska, Orcom currently has more than 500 employees. Orcom is a LiveWire Utilities company. LiveWire is a diversified software and Internet company focused on business-to-business and mission critical software products and services for media, telecommunications, utility and Internet companies.

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