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Media Contact NEW COMPANY USING COLLABORATION TO MAKE PUBLIC POWER INDUSTRY MORE COMPETITIVE JACKSONVILLE, Fla. Feb. 7, 2002 – Today Colectric Partners, Inc., a newly-formed, membership-based non-profit group of publicly owned utility companies, announced they are officially open for business. Colectric revealed details on how it will help America's public power industry become more competitive by providing innovative technology systems and resources to maximize the group's collective physical, financial and intellectual assets. Formed last year by JEA, the Municipal Electric Authority of Georgia, Nebraska Public Power District and Santee Cooper, Colectric will offer memberships to municipal utility operations who want to leverage their joint buying power, share best practices and better manage supply chain initiatives in order to maximize the efficiency, minimize the costs and reduce the financial and environmental risks of their operations. With consumer demand for electricity continuing to climb and deregulation encouraging the growth of for-profit utilities across the country, many publicly owned utility companies are searching for ways to become more competitive. Enter Colectric Partners, Inc. - a national, non-profit member-based corporation whose publicly owned utility members are pooling their best resources in order to gain increased economies of scale, create better market leverage and have access to state-of-the-art best practices. The resources provided by Colectric Partners will address every aspect of publicly owned utility business operations including planning, purchasing, energy transport and distribution. The company's current members have already launched four combustion turbine projects. Positioned to become a galvanizing force in the public power industry, Colectric Partners provides extensive, never before offered benefits to its members, which all will be accessed through a transactional Web site located at www.colectric.com. Some of the member benefits that publicly owned utilities can access via the Web site include:
Colectric has announced the appointment of a trio of power industry veterans who collectively bring more than 75 years of power industry experience to the new company. Robert C. Alder has been named the president and chief operating officer of Colectric Partners, Inc . Alder brings more than 30 years of diverse power industry experience to his new role. Most recently he was a vice president at Parsons Energy and Chemical Group where he served for more than 24 years in a variety of project management, business development and senior management roles. His portfolio of experience also includes working for Pacific Power and Light Company and Wisconsin's Department of Natural Resources. Former Sithe Energies Vice President, Curt Staley has joined Colectric as vice president and director of operations. With more than 25 years of experience, Staley brings a breadth and depth of experience with major power project engineering, construction and management. He has held senior management positions with various owner and contractor companies including U.S. Generating Company and the Bechtel Power Corporation. Staley holds a bachelor's and master's of science degrees in engineering from University of California at Berkeley. Rounding out the new company's management team is Frank Michel who serves as the project director of combustion turbine projects. Michel's background includes more than 25 years of experience in electrical energy project management, business development and engineering working for such companies as Raytheon Engineers & Constructors, R.W. Beck and Associates and Ebasco Services, Inc. Michel is a graduate of Georgia Institute of Technology where he earned both a bachelor's in mechanical engineering and a master's in nuclear engineering. "It's time that municipal utilities tear a page from the playbook of the private sector – by collaborating together, America's publicly owned utilities can develop ways to work better, faster and smarter and ultimately become more competitive," said Alder. "No single entity can do it alone, which is why we created Colectric Partners. Colectric will serve as the galvanizing force to create operational, financial and intellectual efficiency in the public power industry. Bottom line is that Colectric will help America's publicly owned utilities maximize the value of their power resources and minimize the risks and that will mean more reliable, affordable energy is available to those customers served by the nation's publicly owned utilities." Colectric is funded through membership fees and will serve its members primarily through a transactional Web site that features application links, best practices and program management for equipment purchasing, centralized project management and O&M services. All publicly owned U.S. utilities that are subdivisions of a state or local government, or are a publicly owned utility as described in Section 115 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 as amended, are eligible for membership in Colectric Partners. About Colectric Partners |