A consortium of 15 leading U.S. electric and gas companies plans to launch an Internet marketplace for the purchase of goods and services between the energy industry and its suppliers this year.
The 15 companies include American Electric Power (NYSE: AEP), Cinergy (NYSE: CIN), Consolidated Edison, Inc. (NYSE: ED), Duke Energy (NYSE: DUK), Edison International (NYSE: EIX), Entergy (NYSE: ETR), FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE: FE), FPL Group (NYSE: FPL), PG&E Corp. (NYSE: PCG), Public Service Enterprise Group (NYSE: PEG), Reliant Energy (NYSE: REI), Sempra Energy (NYSE: SRE), Southern Company (NYSE: SO), TXU (NYSE: TXU) and Unicom (NYSE: UCM).
The business-to-business exchange will operate as a single global portal for purchasing anything from transformers and wire to turbines and equipment repairs. The for-profit exchange will be open for use by any company in the energy/utility industry.
By building an online marketplace, the consortium expects to generate significant benefits for purchasers and suppliers alike by streamlining purchasing processes, shortening purchase cycles and increasing accessibility between buyers and sellers. According to Forrester Research, utilities are the third largest industry in terms of total online business trade.
The consortium expects to establish an independent company by June to operate the exchange, initially owned by the founding companies.
Initial services will include online proposals, price quotes and auctions. The exchange will be designed to encourage open participation. The strong commitment of the companies to supplier diversity will continue. Open, low-cost access to e-commerce is expected to benefit small and historically underutilized suppliers through increased market reach and efficiency.
The management-consulting firm of PricewaterhouseCoopers has been selected to assist in the development of the exchange and the selection of the technology provider.
For More Information, Contact:
AEP—Pat Hemlepp
614-223-1620
Cinergy—Steve Brash
513-287-2226
ConEd—Mary McCartney
212-460-4111
Duke Energy—Danny Gibbs
704-373-6680
Edison Int’l—Diane Wittenberg
626-302-3312
Entergy—Betsy Shearron
504-576-2042
FPL—Media Relations
305-552-3888
FirstEnergy—Kristen Baird
330-761-4261
PG&E Corp.—Greg Pruett
800-743-6397
PSEG—Paul Rosengren
973-430-5911
Reliant Energy—Sandy Fruhman
713-207-3123
Sempra Energy—Ed Van Herik
877-866-2066
Southern Company—Laura Gillig
404-506-0570
TXU—Sandy Smith
214-812-5977
Unicom—Jennifer Gordon
312-394-2836