CONTACT INFORMATION

Severn Trent Systems
www.sts-us.com

Malcolm Shakespeare
Malcolm.Shakespeare@st-systems.com
281-320-9075

Southern Maryland Electric Cooperative, one of the ten largest electric cooperatives in the United States, is live on CIS Open-Vision, the Customer Information and Utility Billing System from Severn Trent Systems.

HOUSTON, TX; November 18, 2003 – Severn Trent Systems (STS) is pleased to announce that Southern Maryland Electric Cooperative (SMECO) has implemented CIS Open-Vision (CIS/OV). The conversion from an IBM AS/400 application to CIS/OV began after close of business on Friday, November 7. After completion of post-conversion tasks and final application verification, CIS/OV went live on schedule and was released to all users on Wednesday, November 12.

“We couldn't be happier with the way the implementation has gone,” stated Joe Slater, President and CEO of SMECO. “Severn Trent Systems delivered a quality product and first-rate support team. They have consistently met our expectations. Our employees are looking forward to the benefits the new system will bring."

When asked what characteristics of CIS/OV stand out as the most beneficial to their business, SMECO employees emphasize the system's user-friendly graphical interface, the customer service support features, and the system's flexibility.

Customer service representatives especially like the linked relationships between properties, customers, and accounts and the accessibility of customer information.

By using the system's powerful search engine-CIS/OV Explorer-along with drill-down menus, customer inquiries are easily handled and business functions, such as Turn-On service orders, can be completed in a matter of seconds.

"The Explorer allows you to search all across the database for data related to the input criteria and shows you the results in a drill-down relationship format," a SMECO Business Analyst said. "From there you just select the function you want to perform."

CIS/OV, a three-tier client-server application running at SMECO on an HP/UNIX platform and an Oracle database, contains many features that will allow SMECO to improve their customer service. These include online tracking of customer contacts, system-generated correspondence, and automatic creation of activity queue alerts that flag an account for review or follow-up activity.

With CIS/OV's rules-based architecture, modifiable reference data, and flexible customer-based data model, SMECO was able to configure the system to meet its needs with minimal impact on their business processes.

SMECO is STS's first client to use CIS/OV's Capital Credits functionality. At the click of a mouse, CIS/OV gives users the ability to quickly respond to customer inquiries about capital credits balances and refund check status, as well as gain more control and insight over how the co-op's balances are being distributed.

CIS/OV's user-configurable Security and Organizational Hierarchy components allow SMECO supervisors to have complete control over who does what within the system.

"We've been able to pinpoint exactly which functions we allow members of our team to access and set limits on the number of transactions and dollar amounts they can handle," said Joe Trentacosta, SMECO's CIO. "The system's non-financial history functionality allows us to track changes to the customer data so there is never any question what is going on in the system."

"The on-site project team was very knowledgeable and easy to work with," Trentacosta added. "They responded to our concerns and did what it took to make sure we were ready. We had a high degree of confidence going into the conversion."

Malcolm Shakespeare, President of Severn Trent Systems, remarked, "We are very pleased with the implementation. We are looking forward to a long and successful relationship with SMECO, and we will be helping them meet their ongoing production standards through a customized support and maintenance agreement that addresses day-to-day production support and avenues for future growth."

The implementation of CIS/OV at SMECO is the second implementation of the STS system this year. In January, the Snohomish County (Washington) Public Utility District went live with CIS/OV.

About Southern Maryland Electric Cooperative:
SMECO is one of the ten largest cooperatives in the United States and provides electricity to almost 130,000 customers. Founded in 1937, SMECO employs 450 people at its Hughesville, MD, headquarters and at three district offices.

About Severn Trent Systems:
Severn Trent Systems has been providing software and related services exclusively to the utility market for over 25 years. Combining the resources of its people and proven project methodologies, STS provides high-quality customer information and billing systems, and personalized support and consulting services to the utility industry.

For additional information visit our website at www.sts-us.com.

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