CONTACT INFORMATION

ATLANTA and TAMPA, FL., November 1, 2000 – Tampa Electric Company and Derivion, the leading application service provider (ASP) that delivers comprehensive business-to-consumer, business-to-business, and small business e-billing solutions for the Internet, today announced an agreement that will enable more than half-a-million residential, commercial, and industrial customers in West Central Florida to access, view, and pay their electric bills via Tampa Electric’s Web site.

“As our industry continues toevolve, we remain more committed than ever toe-commerce innovations and solutions, such as e-billing, that allow us to improve customer convenience,” said Penni Allison, director of corporate customer services, Tampa Electric. “Derivion offers a flexible e-billing solution that satisfies customer demand and offers us the opportunity to manage the customer relationship. In addition, this project demonstrates how we’ve worked with IT toidentify and select a non-intrusive, secure, scalable e-billing solution that best meets our needs.”

Derivion inetBiller acts as a transparent extension of Tampa Electric’s Web site while allowing the utility tocontrol all aspects of the application. With a viable e-billing solution that offers multi-dimensional customer care and value-add products and services, Tampa Electric will create multiple efficiencies by streamlining business processes and driving new revenue streams.

“Derivion’s relationship with Tampa Electric is a terrific example of our strategic partnerships at work,” said David Usrey, VP of Sales, Derivion. “True to our non-intrusive strategy, our e-billing solution will now allow Tampa Electric to maintain its payment processing relationship with Checkfree while connecting the biller toCheckfree’s wide range of distribution sites offering customers freedom todecide where to access, view, and pay bills.”

With Derivion hosting the e-billing solution, Tampa Electric is not required to invest in additional software, hardware, or network capabilities. The utility plans tofollow an aggressive implementation timeline that will allow its customers to begin paying e-bills as early as January 2001.

About Tampa Electric
Tampa Electric is the principal subsidiary of TECO Energy, Inc. (NYSE: TE), a diversified, energy-related utility holding company with principal businesses that include Peoples Gas System, TECO Power Services, TECO Transport, TECO Coal, TECO Coalbed Methane, and TECO Solutions. Additional information is available in TECO Energy’s online newsroom at www.tecoenergy.com.

About Derivion
Derivion is the leading e-billing ASP that delivers comprehensive B2C, B2B, and small business solutions that automate bill delivery, payment, and customer care processes. Derivion offers three core e-billing solutions that address the needs of businesses of all sizes: inetBillerSM, inetBiller B2B SM, and a small business e-billing solution. Derivion supports billers with DigitalCare SM; a unique service offering that integrates traditional and Internet-based CRM tools to Enhance customer relationships. In addition, DigitalCare incorporates Activation Marketing -- a powerful resource aimed at accelerating consumer adoption of e-billing. Derivion has an extensive network of partnerships with industry leaders in electronic bill distribution and payment processing including Checkfree, First Union, MasterCard RPPS, Comerica, and Texas Capital Bank. Derivion also connects billers tovirtually all consumer access points such as Yahoo!, Quicken.com, Charles Schwab, and BankOne through strategic alliances with Paytrust, Intuit, and Checkfree. Derivion leads the industry with pioneering technology and multi-layered services, currently working with more than 68 B2C and B2B billers todigitize over 200 million bills annually. The Atlanta-based company was founded in 1998 and maintains research, development, and additional sales offices in Toronto, Canada. For more information about Derivion, please visit www.derivion.com.

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