American PowerNet 1st to Develop Service to Assist Large Electric Users Access the Wholesale Markets

    WYOMISSING, Pa.--June 20, 2003--American PowerNet, an independent energy management firm, is the first company in the country to develop a suite of services to exclusively assist large industrial electric users gain access to the wholesale electric markets.
    "One of the biggest ironies of the multi-billion dollar electric market is that the entities that make it a multi-billion dollar market, the companies that actually use the electricity, are really not part of it", stated R. Scott Helm, President of American PowerNet. "We have found that when you introduce an end users credit into the game it has value, particularly in light of what has happened in the energy industry over the last couple of years, and that value ultimately translates into lower costs."
    American PowerNet initially demonstrated this value by releasing parallel electric bids on behalf of two Fortune 500 companies. One bid went to retail electric suppliers licensed in the state and the other bid went to wholesale generators and marketers within the Regional Transmission Organization, "RTO". Both bids requested the same amount of power over the same period of time delivered to the same site. The results clearly demonstrated there is a significant bottleneck between the retail markets and the wholesale markets, as the retail bid resulted in only two suppliers responding with "out-of-the-money" offers while the wholesale bid resulted in eight generators/marketers responding with twenty-eight competitive offers of varying length and structure. In addition to the savings, the results clearly demonstrated that there are significantly more options, liquidity and price transparency at the wholesale level. However, the roadblocks to direct access for the large energy users have been significant, such as the complexity involved with scheduling and balancing the electric load every day combined with the numerous cost components and licensing requirements. American PowerNet now assists large electric users to easily overcome all of these hurdles and directly access the wholesale markets by providing all of the expertise and back office capabilities to manage the electric procurement and delivery on a day-to-day basis.
    "This strategy is particularly advantageous for companies with multiple sites in multiple states." explained Helm. "It allows companies to finally leverage their purchasing power for electric much like they have for all of their other supplies. Going directly to the wholesale markets is the next logical step for large electric users exposed to market prices in deregulated states, however, while significant savings and benefits can be obtained, the markets are relatively complicated which has discouraged more direct participation up to this point." American PowerNet currently provides wholesale procurement services behind PJM, and soon in the New England ISO, NY ISO, ERCOT and MISO territories.

    About American PowerNet

    American PowerNet provides clients with supply-side management services designed to provide direct cost savings on energy purchased, and demand-side management strategies that reduce or shift energy use for overall lower energy bills. As a leader in the electricity procurement markets, American PowerNet currently procures energy for thousands of accounts nationwide. For more information, call 610/372-8500 or visit online, www.americanpowernet.com.