Open-cIS Customer Care Software Goes into Production at DQE, Inc

Business Wire, Jan 22, 2001

Business Editors & Technology Writers

MINNEAPOLIS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 22, 2001

Billing services organization at DQE, Inc. is now officially

using the customer information system developed by rising

customer-care and billing solution provider

Open-c Solutions, an emerging provider of customer-care software solutions, announced that AquaSource, an affiliate of DQE, Inc. (NYSE:DQE), has gone live with the Open-cIS(TM) customer information system (CIS) to deliver billing and customer-care services. Following a nine-month effort, the conversion of customer and billing data from AquaSource's previous system to Open-cIS was completed the weekend of October 21.

Thomas Hubbell, Vice President of Information Technology at DQE, expressed the importance of the Open-cIS project to his organization: "It was imperative that AquaSource implement a long-term customer care solution in 2000. By working closely with Open-c Solutions and Sierra Systems, our project team has achieved a major corporate objective at DQE. I am pleased to report that AquaSource is extremely happy with the delivered solution and the results of the implementation effort. This significant accomplishment was achieved by a team of dedicated professionals from DQE corporate IT, AquaSource, Open-c Solutions and Sierra Systems. All contributing parties should take great pride in this major accomplishment".

Mr. Hubbell went on to explain why Open-cIS is the right choice for DQE and AquaSource: "AquaSource is comprised of six hundred water and wastewater systems in twenty one states. Therefore, for us to provide effective support for AquaSource's system needs as they pertain to customer care, we require a CIS with flexibility to support multi-state and multi-jurisdiction requirements. At the same time, we need a system that can evolve as AquaSource continues to consolidate and make improvements to its business operations. We feel that Open-cIS is the ideal solution that is configurable and allows us to provide timely and cost-effective support to AquaSource without having to rely on the vendor to continually make software changes."

Pat Langan, President of Open-c Solutions, spoke of the special significance of this achievement: "The production use of Open-cIS at DQE represents a major milestone for our organization. DQE is our first customer and first implementation effort - completing this successfully on an aggressive schedule validates our product and our implementation approach. The outstanding result is also a testament to the quality of the people that participated on the project team". DQE reports that the system has been operating well since the initial date of implementation. As Mr. Langan put it: "DQE is pleased with the results, and Open-c Solutions is proud to have provided the solution for AquaSource's customer care and billing needs."

Mr. Langan pointed out that the assistance of integration partner Sierra Systems was crucial to the success of the DQE/AquaSource implementation: "Sierra Systems greatly enhanced our ability to implement Open-cIS swiftly and smoothly. Their skilled resources and emphasis on risk management helped us complete the project in just nine months and avoid the pitfalls that are typical of CIS projects."

Al Ytsma, Vice President responsible for the Utilities Practice at Sierra Systems praised the adaptability of Open-cIS: "The flexibility of the architecture of Open-cIS allowed the implementation team to configure the system to meet the specific business needs of AquaSource within a very aggressive time-frame. Sierra Systems truly believes that Open-cIS is destined to become an industry leader."

DQE Enterprises, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of DQE Inc., recently led a $10 million investment round in National Water and Power, Inc. which wholly owns Open-c Solutions. Thomas Hurkmans, President of DQE Enterprises, Inc. stated: "DQE Enterprises uses its industry knowledge and network to help developing companies like Open-c Solutions, which offer products that can extend the reach and profitability of utilities. Few technologies are more important in this regard than customer information and customer management systems that allow utilities to provide flexible pricing, multiple suppliers and other products and services to their existing and newly acquired customers."

About Open-c Solutions

Open-c Solutions, headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota, is the premium provider of customer information systems (CIS) software for major utilities, energy marketers and billing service bureaus. The company offers Open-cIS as a supported software license and as an application service. Visit Open-c Solutions' web site at www.open-c.com. Open-c Solutions is owned by National Water & Power (privately held, Santa Ana, CA), a nationwide supplier of utility metering and billing services. Visit National Water & Power's web site at www.nwpco.com.

About DQE, Inc.

DQE is a growth utility, delivering essential products and related services, including electricity, water, gas and communications, to more than one million customers throughout the United States. DQE combines its extensive utility delivery expertise with leading-edge technology to create greater value for customers and shareholders. AquaSource is a DQE subsidiary, which acquires, develops, and manages water and waste-water assets throughout the US. Visit DQE's web site at www.dqe.com.