Providing retail gas customers a choice of suppliers via theInternet is a distant hope of some visionaries in the gas industry,but pioneers at Bay State Gas already have made it happen. TheMassachusetts distributor has upgraded its interactive web site toallow customers to shop for suppliers competing in its supplierchoice pilot program and to provide an easy method for suppliers toenroll new customers and check their daily pooling requirements.The web site also offers customers the option of checking their gasusage, reviewing their bills, and buying additional products andservices.

“To our knowledge, Bay State’s web site is the first utility website in New England to provide customer billing information and oneof the most comprehensive utility web sites in the nation,” saidBay State’s Carol Collins, vice president of customer servicesdelivery.

Ten marketers currently are selling gas to retail customers inBay State’s Choice Advantage pilot. And more than 27,000 Bay Statecustomers out of 100,000 eligible currently are participating inthe program. Pending approval Massachusetts Department ofTelecommunications and Energy, the program may be expanded to itsentire service territory this November.

Web activity should be quite high at that point because BayState’s market research indicates more than 50% of its customershave web access. And, according to the utility, the Internet is themost cost-effective way to deal with new industry changes andcontinue meeting its customer energy needs.

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