After five months of use and $100 million in gas purchases,Procter & Gamble (P&G) concluded EnergyGateway.com’snatural gas marketplace works like charm.

“EnergyGateway.com brings together a large number of buyers andsellers providing a competitive market environment that hasdelivered significant savings for Procter & Gamble,” saidMichele Kidd, North American energy purchasing group manager.

The exchange, which went live in September 1999 and fired up itsgas marketplace in November 1999, claims to be the biggesttransaction site for large commercial and industrial energycustomers, as well as utilities and producers. The system allows abusiness to post its needs, then choose from among the bids itreceives from suppliers. Fees are charged only on successfultransactions, and suppliers also can sell to other suppliers.

“By streamlining the procurement process online, Procter &Gamble is reaping benefits in the form of true savings and thefreedom to focus on more strategic value-added duties,” said DanPugh, director of major accounts at EnergyGateway.com.

F. Daniel Ryan, EnergyGateway’s president and co-founder saidthe electric marketplace has just recently started signing peopleon, but the natural gas marketplace has “51 of the largest naturalgas suppliers in the country, and a number of them are alreadyelectricity providers. So we are transitioning the providers overto the electricity marketplace and adding our consumers to theelectricity marketplace.” Ryan pointed out that electricityderegulation’s slow growth is limiting the areas his electricityplatform can serve.

Procter & Gamble’s praise comes on the heels ofEnergyGateway’s October deal with Cargill Inc., an internationalmarketer, processor and distributor of agricultural, food,financial and industrial products and services. Initially, Cargillintends to spend $55 million buying gas on EnergyGateway.com, butin the future it could extend its usage to cover all of thecompany’s $500 million natural gas and electricity needs.

“We selected EnergyGateway because it is the first company toblend proven energy transaction expertise with the ease,flexibility, convenience and control of e-commerce,” said J.F.Muse, a spokesman for Cargill. Alex Steis

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