For Immediate Release

Albuquerque, New Mexico—November 3, 2004—UtiliPoint^® International, Inc.'s (UtiliPoint^®) Utility and Energy Technology practice has completed the first release of North American business case acceptance data for automated meter reading (AMR). The study of more than 150 investor-owned, municipal utilities, and regulators across North America examined the business case for AMR and identified benefits of AMR that reveal a clear roadmap for utility success in deploying AMR. The final report is now available from UtiliPoint^®.

“This is a groundbreaking study,” reports Patti Harper-Slaboszewicz, Director, Advanced Meter Reading and Demand Response for UtiliPoint®. “Never before has such a comprehensive analysis of the business case for AMR been performed and this provides industry benchmark data on utility AMR benefits.”

“Utilities and technology providers will benefit from this incredible research,” said Ethan L. Cohen director of the company's Utility and Energy Technology practice. “The UtiliPoint^® survey that is the basis of this report is lengthy, and covers virtually every aspect of the AMR market including: the AMR business case, congestion, solid state metering, rates in effect/planned/supported for residential and commercial customers, dynamic pricing, the role of demand response in the AMR requirements, and a variety of other technology and market oriented topics.”

The UtiliPoint^® report on AMR is very unique. For example, UtiliPoint^® found that there are significant differences between what industry regulators and the investor owned utilities are looking for an AMR system to provide in terms of billing information for residential customers. Our research shows that only thirty percent of utilities in North America plan to obtain critical peak energy usage from the AMR system for residential customers even though the regulators in the states or provinces specifically support this feature of an AMR system.

UtiliPoint^® also uncovered a number of very interesting facts about the utility outlook on AMR. For example, two thirds of the utilities that UtiliPoint^® surveyed included outage management in the AMR business case, more than any other benefit. We also discovered that utilities favored time-differentiated pricing and dynamic pricing more for residential customers than for small and medium commercial customers as many in the industry have long assumed.

The UtiliPoint^® Evaluation of the AMR Industry is an indispensable information source and market intelligence tool. The report is more than 250 pages and has more than 300 charts and diagrams detailing every aspect of the AMR industry.

For more information on this report please click here or contact Patti Harper-Slaboszewicz at (505) 797-5475 or pharper-s@utilipoint.com.

About UtiliPoint^® International, Inc.