Like many companies, Utility Network & Partners Inc. (UTILITYnet) held its Christmas party this week, reflecting on the importance of bringing people together to celebrate.

“It’s amazing,” said Madeline Low, managing partner UTILITYnet, “four years ago, the party could have been held around a coffee table with only two chairs, and today UTILITYnet group of companies has grown to a family of over 60 people with offices in Calgary, London (England) New Delhi and Bangalore (India).”

The roots of UTILITYnet go back to 1988, providing a software solution to help companies manage the validation process of checking their electrical power invoices. The Electrical Power Supervision System (EPSS) is used to ensure utility invoices are correct. The application provides energy management reports that companies use to help them manage purchased electricity. Clients using EPSS have saved millions of dollars in finding and eliminating billing errors made by utilities.

Managing partners Madeline Low and Nick Clark count big players in the oilpatch among their satisfied clients.

At a glance UTILITYnet’s client list reveals the cream of the oil patch: Apache, BP, Conoco, Coral, ChevronTexaco, CNRL, Duke, Imperial Oil, Shell, TransCanada, as well as, property management companies, a golf course, a church, a few large farms and many small businesses. “They all have one thing in common,” smiled Nick Clark, managing partner, UTILITYnet – “they’re all taking advantage of the fall in electricity pricing in Alberta’s deregulated market.”

Falling prices? “Sure,” said Clark. “The price for electrical power is back to the same level it was in ’99.”

When the market opened on the eve of deregulation in 2001 it was ‘fear factor’ and ‘uncertainty’ that drove the market price up. For a short period, the average monthly power pool price hovered in the $150 to $250 MWh price range. Although the government shielded residential customers and small businesses with their Regulated Rate Option that capped prices, companies who were not eligible for the regulated rate price freeze had a choice. Many didn’t do anything and stayed with their old utility. For some, maybe that was the wrong choice.

Are there problems with Alberta’s path towards a deregulated market? “While some politicians continue to bash the government over deregulation, their comments are misdirected, politically motivated or simply uninformed. Sure, some retailers are still having problems with system billing errors, but this has nothing to do with deregulation,” said Clark.

“The problems with billing errors are being corrected, it is part of the ever changing process. Let’s remember, deregulation is about customer choice and the customer can choose a retailer that offers the ‘best fit’ to their business needs. Rather then complaining about billing errors or prices, shop around the same way you buy every other commodity. In reality, switching retailers is easy and quite possibly the best corporate decision you might make this year.”

The growth of UTILITYnet’s core business has allowed them to expand outside the energy market and invest as founding stakeholders in SeE Consulting, a software development and programming company that now has clients the likes of Aquila, The World Bank and Epson. “SeE has given us a tremendous advantage,” said Clark. “With a local and off-shore network of programmers we offer our clients two key ingredients – faster delivery of programming results (staff in two time zones, 12 hours apart), PLUS an exceptional talent pool of resources.”

Using this to their advantage UTILITYnet has built one of the most complex and advanced load settlement and bill payment processing systems in Alberta. This elite team of outsource service providers help companies maximize returns by helping them minimize costs. UTILITYnet systems also manage risk and eliminate billing errors.

When deregulation became a fact in Alberta life in 2001, UTILITYnet was quick to pounce on this new opportunity by developing an application called RISS – Retail Invoice Settlement System. Metered data from operating sites is staged, filtered, aggregated and profiled via RISS prior to loading online for web access by the customer.

This new tool has become the system of choice and de-facto standard in Alberta. UTILITYnet today is processing 44% of the aggregate electrical load purchased by industrial customers in Alberta through their RISS program.

“It is all an exercise in taking something complex and making it simple,” Mr. Clark said. “When you go online to use our systems, you go to one button. A single click of the ‘Go’ button on our website www.UTILITYnet.net gives the customer access to their data reassembled in a report format.”

Once activated, the system automatically loads, performs validation checks, controls security and delivers real-time information, everything the customer needs to know to manage risk and make informed purchasing decisions.

“It makes sense for our clients to outsource. They receive timely delivery of accurate data,” said Clark. “They also have access to a detailed audit trail to ensure their shareholders are properly protected.”

Not the kind of team to stand still, the company’s gifted R&D group has continued to develop new and complementary programs to broaden the service path to UTILITYnet customers. One such application, developed jointly by UTILITYnet and BP, was dubbed GreenReport, which is used to calculate, monitor and manage both direct and indirect CO2 emissions.

With Canadian ratification of the Kyoto Accord on the horizon, this terrific software package reached the market in the nick of time, and today Talisman and EnCana are using GreenReport.

If you are interested in learning what UTILITYnet services best fit your company, or if you would like to explore your options on switching retailers or becoming a self-retailer, contact UTILITYnet 403.244.7299 ext. 200. Outside Calgary call 1.800.244.7299 or visit www.utilitynet.net