North American Power Brokers and Duquesne Enterprises Team to Offer Natural Gas and Electricity Via the Internet

Business Wire, June 3, 1998

MAYNARD, Mass., and PITTSBURGH--(BUSINESS WIRE)--June 3, 1998-- North American Power Brokers, Inc., and Duquesne Enterprises, a wholly-owned subsidiary of DQE, Inc., (NYSE:DQE) today announced that Duquesne Enterprises has made a significant investment in North American Power. Duquesne Enterprises will be immediately represented on North American Power's Board of Directors. No other investment terms were disclosed.

North American Power provides a vendor-neutral, electronic commerce-based approach to purchasing natural gas and electricity through its proprietary World Wide Retail Energy Exchange, otherwise known as REX. As the energy purchaser's exclusive agent for a particular transaction, North American Power publishes the energy buyer's consumption profile and other relevant transaction-specific data on its secure Internet website. Energy suppliers then electronically enter bids, which are evaluated by North American Power with the best bid electronically accepted in a real-time transaction. North American Power is compensated on a success fee basis by suppliers for arranging and executing energy delivery contracts. North American Power is the first company to offer this service on a retail basis in the energy market. REX was developed through a strategic partnership with Per-Se Technologies, a major information technology service provider.

"We are excited to have DQE as a strategic partner," said John Gaus, North American Power's President and Chief Executive Officer. "We're encouraged that a large and successful energy services company shares our vision that electronic commerce will be a significant factor in today's energy markets. We look forward to their help in implementing that vision."

Jeff DeWeese, North American Power's Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, said he is pleased by the reception his company is receiving in the marketplace from both energy suppliers and energy purchasers. He noted that energy suppliers like North American Power's service because it reduces their marketing costs and provides immediate access to live transactions on a daily basis. Energy buyers, he added, recognize the advantage of expanding the number of energy suppliers bidding on their contracts while reducing the length and the complexities of the purchasing cycle.

In commenting on the strategic partnering arrangement, Thomas A. Hurkmans, President of Duquesne Enterprises, said, "The investment in North American Power complements our continued roll-out of advanced energy services for commercial and industrial customers. We are very impressed with the business and transaction processing infrastructure developed by North American Power and by their knowledge of the intricacies of the energy market. We will be working hard over the next several months to help customers gain from this service."

Hurkmans also said the arrangement with North American Power is part of his company's on-going investment in services that utilize electronic commerce to the benefit of their customers. For example, Duquesne Enterprises recently announced the launch, with partner Broadpoint Communications, of a free long-distance service called FreeWay(TM). FreeWay subscribers can earn free long-distance telephone calling by listening to several 5-10 second advertisements before their connection is made. As with North American Power's service, the FreeWay service is anticipated to enable customers to purchase goods and services via electronic commerce.

Shawn Davis, Managing Director of Per-Se Technologies, says North American Power's capabilities will radically alter the future of energy purchasing. "It is clear that North American Power's technology, World Wide REX, is creating a paradigm shift in the way consumers buy and suppliers sell energy. Having witnessed the efficiencies, we see no reason why every independent energy transaction will not someday occur on the Web. Per-Se Technologies is excited to be part of the solution and is looking forward to its nationwide implementation."

North American Power Brokers, headquartered in Maynard, Mass., was formed in 1995 by Gaus and DeWeese. Since January, the firm has executed over 250 contracts with 220 customers for the purchase of energy. More than 20 energy suppliers, including several of the nation's largest, have bid on these energy supply contracts. Most of North American Power's revenues to date have been related to the purchase of natural gas. The firm has signed contracts with customers for the purchase of electricity, which will be executed pending the progress of electric utility deregulation.

Duquesne Enterprises is a wholly-owned subsidiary of publicly traded DQE, Inc., (NYSE:DQE). DQE also is the parent company of Duquesne Light Company, an electric utility that serves Southwestern Pennsylvania. Duquesne Enterprises is an energy and information services company involved in communications, electronic commerce, commercial energy services, automatic meter reading, and home and commercial monitored security services.