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ALBUQUERQUE, NM, May 17, 2004 - UtiliPoint International, Inc. (UtiliPoint), the utility and energy industry thought leader, today announced the release of a report based on the firm's recently concluded survey of 305 utility customer care executives. The report analyzes survey results, and identifies vital trends in utility customer care. One of the key findings of the survey and report is that there is a significant increase in the number of utilities shopping for a new customer information system (CIS). UtiliPoint's survey indicates that approximately 16% of North American Utilities are currently in the market for a new CIS.

“The latest survey effectively captures the pulse of the utility industry on such areas as CIS and customer relationship management systems (CRM)," said Christopher Perdue, UtiliPoint's director of market research. "This marks the third consecutive year of UtiliPoint's customer care survey, and as such provides for some unique opportunities for trending analysis." Perdue added, "findings from the two previous customer care surveys had shown that percentage of North American utilities in the market for a new CIS was 9.9% last year, and 5% in 2002."

The types of utilities responding to the survey is closely aligned with how the North American market actually looks, and as a result, includes detailed responses from co-operative, municipal, and investor-owned utilities. The report is also comprehensive as it covers utilities that supply electric, gas, water, wastewater, waste-management, cable, and telecommunication services.

The report addresses some of the most important questions in the energy and utility industry:

• What are the top priorities for information technology?
• Who are the leading customer information system (CIS) providers for each utility type?
• How old is the typical utility CIS?
• How many people does it take to support the CIS?
• What is the most important determining factor in the selection of a CIS?
• How many utilities are offering e-billing as a presentment & payment option to customers?
• What categories offer the customer service area the best opportunity to reduce costs?
• What customer care functions are utilities outsourcing?

For more information on this survey and report, please contact Christopher Perdue by phone at 704.362.1158, or by e-mail at cperdue@utilipoint.com.

About UtiliPoint International, Inc.
With origins dating to 1933, UtiliPoint International, Inc. is a leader in providing research-based consulting to the utility industry. UtiliPoint analysts have provided strategic business plans and studies on information technology, and its impact on utility operations. Direct experiences include work in trading/risk management, outsourcing, CIS, billing, CRM, metering, AMR, demand response, work/outage management, supply chain, ERP, call centers, rates/pricing products, and IT architectural design. The firm is also the publisher of IssueAlert™, an analysis of the utility and energy industry's hot topics sent to over 33,000 utility and energy executives dailly.

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