Two main players in the gas industry’s e business sector joinedforces last week as Altra Energy Technologies and Excelergy Corp.announced an agreement in which Excelergy’s billing and customerinformation software will be marketed along with Altra’s wholesaletrading and risk management products. No financial terms weredisclosed. The venture is currently under way.

The two companies hope combining the two Internet-based systemswill create a complete wholesale-to-retail solution. “We’re pleasedto partner with Altra in delivering the most advanced systems inthe industry to allow energy buyers and sellers all across thespectrum to maximize the cost-efficiency of their interactions,”said Cary Bullock, president of Excelergy. “This agreementstrengthens what has been a growing, mutually beneficialrelationship for both companies for some time now.”

Lori Kessler, an Excelergy spokeswoman, said both companies’products have not changed as a result of the deal. “We are notmerging our products together and we’re still separate entities.What this agreement allows both companies to do is bridge thetransition from retail to wholesale and vice versa, when presentingour products to prospective customers.”

With both the gas and electric industries deregulating fast, thetwo companies see a wealth of opportunity to appeal to both acustomer’s wholesale and retail needs.”Excelergy’s functionalityon the retail side of the business will integrate seamlessly withour wholesale trading and transaction systems,” said E. Russell(Rusty) Braziel, Altra chairman.

Excelergy’s advance billing programs (ABP) allow customers tobuild highly scaleable and customized billing systems and even letsusers view their energy billing accounts on line. Last month, threeEastern Enterprise subsidiaries, including Boston Gas, agreed toemploy Excelergy’s ABP in an attempt to better accommodatederegulation and to meet customers’ calls for more billingflexibility.

Altra’s products are widely used throughout the industry foronline, wholesale energy trading. Last month, the Houston-basedcompany launched its power trading platform.

“We know more and more customers are looking for not only asupply side tool, but also a demand side tool to manage theirbusiness,” said Drew Epps, a spokesman for Altra. “The onset ofderegulation has brought on more companies that have to handlecustomer information more effectively, as well as the buying andselling of the product. With this arrangement, we can helpcompanies do that.”

Epps said there is a strong opportunity for growth in thisco-marketing venture. “Right now, it’s just a marketing agreement.But as we go forward, we will work together closely on how we canmake our separate products work well together.”

John Norris

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