As an enticement to do business, Aquila Energy is sending giftsto about 2,000 large energy users as part of a $3 million-plusdirect marketing and national advertising campaign. The gifts are aphone, antique bank replica, or a weather radio and are being sentto prospects in Chicago, Denver, Pittsburgh, New York, Houston,Baltimore, and Washington, DC.

Those to be gifted are mainly energy buyers for large to mediumsize gas utilities, gas producers or industrial manufacturers inthe iron, steel, paper and chemical industries. Each companyselected to receive a gift has unique energy needs associated withthe products they produce and their location, Aquila said.

Vicki Smith, Aquila vice president of marketing, said Aquila”found out that most of these companies don’t believe their utilityor current energy providers are ‘listening’ to them or payingattention to their specific needs; rather they are being offered acookie-cutter approach to their energy concerns.” Utilities likelyaren’t offering their customers antique bank replicas either.

A brochure enclosed in each Aquila mailer details the company’ssix “energy portfolios” that include everything from the basics ofbuying and selling energy, to more sophisticated risk managementtools, to winter gas peaking or seasonal power solutions. Thecampaign will continue through 1998.

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