North American utility companies continue to move ahead withe-business plans, despite the recent upheaval in the Internetindustry and the volatility of the energy market, according to astudy by Chartwell, a researcher based in Atlanta.

The use of the Internet as a customer-contact portal is gainingin popularity, with nearly 18% of energy companies now offeringonline sign-up service. Another 27% say they will implement onlineservices soon. Chartwell targeted its study on thebusiness-to-customer side of e-commerce transactions andInternet-based services, studying customer relationship managementand integration of traditional business functions to determine whatInternet services provide the biggest industry concerns.

Among other things, the study, which used 100 surveys, foundthat last year, a small percentage of utilities providedWeb-enabled customer service through “live chat” rooms.

Dennis Smith, Chartwell’s editorial director, said the new studyfound that both traditional utilities and the blendedenergy/communications companies “believe the Web will play anessential part in future business, and the leading companies havetheir strategies in place and are moving forward. Many others, fromthe smallest co-ops to the largest IOUs, are just now getting onboard and developing a central e-business strategy to improveservices and enhance revenues in the challenge for theseorganizations.”

For more information on the study, “Chartwell’s Guide to E-Businessin the Energy Industry 2001,” visit the company’s website at www.chartwellinc.com/research.htm, or call (800)432-5879.

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