March 6–8, 2006 • Hyatt Regency Miami • Miami, FL

5th Annual

Credit Risk and Regulation:

• The Economy — Federal Reserve Bank provides essential data on national debt, consumer debt, interest rates, job growth, population growth, oil and gas prices, and C&I/residential bankruptcy trends

• High Gas Prices — Atmos Energy and Nicor Services adjust collections programs to lessen bad debt write-offs and mitigate against customer switching in competitive markets

• Large C&I Credit Risk — Direct Energy Marketing Limited and AmerenUE predict and recover C&I revenue loss in their service areas and through affiliates

• Regulatory Hurdles for Uncollectibles — SCANA Corp., Niagara Mohawk, Nevada PUC, Massachusetts DTE, Great Lakes Energy, NSTAR, and Pepco Holdings, Inc. examine utility/PUC-PSC consumer complaint resolution and discuss the impact of The Consumer Protection Act of 2005

• The Bankruptcy Act of 2005 — Cinergy Corp. discusses the Act’s impact on retail/regulated receivables and reveals solutions for preference payments and post-petition deposits

• Energy Theft — Florida Power & Light, We Energies, and United Illuminating Company discuss regulatory compliance, prosecution rights, and disconnect approaches related to C&I and residential energy theft

PLUS!

• Duke Power redesigns its elderly receivables program, tactfully managing disconnects for residential and assistedliving communities

Process Improvement:

• Customer Scoring and Segmentation — General Electric Capital Corp., Florida Power & Light, and Centerpoint Energy examine how to leverage predictive analytics and internal/external pre and post charge off scoring tools

• Collection Agency Management — FirstEnergy Corp., National Grid, and AmerenUE examine use of regression analysis, vintage reporting, benchmarking, Champion Challenger programs, and audits when choosing and maintaining a vendor relationship

• Selling Active Receivables — American Electric Power, Progress Energy, Arizona Public Service, and NSTAR define the optimum point in the credit life cycle for debt selling and clarify when selling bad debt is not right for your utility

• Working with IT to Build Automated Collections Solutions — Aquila, Allegheny Power, Tampa Electric, and Arizona Public Service gain buy-in from internal IT developers for use of data automation tools; streamline final bill/deposit disconnects, installment plans, fraud mitigation, and probate processes

• The Aging Workforce — Consolidated Edison manages workforce attrition through customized hiring and structured interview approaches

Outstanding Support Provided by:

Sponsored by:

Register by January 20, 2006 and SAVE $400

More Than 30 Retail/Regulated Utilities, Utility Commissions, and Collections Experts Examine:

Electric Utility Week Electric Power DailyGas Daily

Credit and Collections for UtilitiesRetail/Regulated Credit Risks; Analytics and Automation Integration;

Collection Techniques to Match High Energy Costs

Credit and Collections for Utilities

“Practiced, insightful, useful information wa

Register Three, Get One Free! See registration page for details.

DAY ONE: Monday, March 6, 2006

7:15 Conference Registration and Continental Breakfast —

Hosted by:

8:15 Chairman’s Welcome and Opening RemarksTed Nolte, Senior Vice President and Co-Founder,Bass & Company

8:30 The Economy: A National Outlook • National debt• Consumer debt• Interest rates• Job growth• Population growth• Bankruptcy trends: C&I and residential

Ellis W. Tallman, Vice President, Federal Reserve Bank

9:15 Adjust Your Collections Program to Deal With the Effects of High Gas Prices: Retail/Regulated Solutions

• Magnitude of gas costs to bad debt write-offs• Personnel re-alignment to reduce write-offs• Competitive markets

° customer switching

° renegotiating long-term contracts• Fraud prevention: establish identity of customer• Delinquent accounts: disconnection practices• Define measures to monitor bad-debt write-offs

Robert Ayres, Supervisor, Credit Investigations, Nicor ServicesAnthony G. Looney, Director of Customer Revenue, Collections,Atmos Energy

10:30 Networking & Refreshment Break — Hosted by:

11:15 Duke Energy Redesigns Its Elderly/Assisted Living Receivables Program

• Getting the correct information up front: age/accurate birthdates, next of kin

• Tactfully manage 24-hour notices/non-pay disconnects• C&I issues: work with assisted living communities on

payment programs• Leverage field workers to perform site assessments for signs

of ability/inability to pay• Work with South Carolina PSC to gain buy-in for program

Eddy Via, Supervisor Receivables Management, Duke Power

12:00 Luncheon

1:15 PANEL DISCUSSION:Regulatory Hurdles for Uncollectibles: PUC/PSC Relations and New Legislation

• Working with utility commissions on consumer complaints

° disconnect rights: manage in-territory vs. out-of-territory residential customer shut-offs

° managing special payment programs

° collections: statute of limitations and handling disputes

° improving call center/collection department performance through revenue gained in rate pass-through

° the impact of rate cases on collections processes• The Consumer Protection Act of 2005• The Fair Credit Reporting Act (FACT): why it matters to

utility collections processes

° definition and rules of FACT construction

° the link between FACT and identity theft protection from high-risk customers

• Sarbanes-Oxley: redesigning collections to meet SOA regulations

Moderator: Dan S. Brown, Corporate Credit Manager, SCANA Corporation

William Grossman, Counsel, Niagara MohawkRichard Hackman, Consumer Complaint Resolution DivisionManager, Nevada Public Utilities CommissionBill M. Scott, Chief Financial Officer, Great Lakes EnergyBill Van Dam, Director of Credit, Collections, and Revenue Protection, NSTARCaroline M. Bulger, Senior Counsel, Massachusetts Department of Telecommunications and EnergyJack Strausman, Associate General Counsel, Pepco Holdings, Inc.

2:45 Networking & Refreshment Break — Hosted by:

3:45 The Bankruptcy Reform Act of 2005 and Regulated vs. Deregulated Market Approaches for Filings and Preference Actions

• How does the Bankruptcy Reform Act of 2005 affect utility collections?

• What are the regulated/deregulated environment differences?

° do utilities have mechanisms in place to maintain the supplier relationship post petition?

° implications when bankruptcy notices are not received in a timely manner: transferring payments; complications in the settlement process between the LDC and supplier

• Potential liability issues of LDC: traditional vs. deregulated environment

• Post-petition deposits• Preference protection strategy: don’t be an easy mark

Eric French, Counsel, Cinergy Corporation

4:30 Networking & Refreshment Break — Hosted by:

To Register Call Toll Free 866-355-2930 (781-860-6100 outside the USA) or Fax 781-860-6101.

as gained and best practices will be applied to our operation.” — Ric

4:45 PANEL DISCUSSION:Leverage Process Optimization and Technology to Re-engineer Your Disconnection Nonpayment Process Have you reviewed how your nonpayment process works lately? This study provides insights into how utilities have made it a priority and made major changes.

• Identifying you have a problem• Outlining a plan to re-engineer the process• Negotiating the changes with unions• Understanding the need for all stakeholders (union and

management) to make sacrifices• Understanding the need to look beyond the immediate

problem; taking a holistic look at peripheral operational issues impacting the nonpayment process

• Continuing to look for process improvements• Asset management for disconnect processes

° how do you balance the cost of disconnect and reconnect versus the dollars at risk?

° leveraging AMR for disconnect purposes

° should you tie up call center resources to call customers and attempt collections or do you send the order to the field for disconnection?

° is it more cost-effective to outsource active account collections?

Raymond Lukanc, Strategic Supervisor, Lead Analyst, ExelonKerry Overton, Vice President, Customer Care, Austin EnergyGrady Reid, Jr., Manager Revenue Collections, Regulated Business Unit, Cinergy Corporation

DAY TWO: Tuesday, March 7, 2006

7:30 Continental Breakfast

8:15 Chairman’s Review of Day OneTed Nolte, Senior Vice President and Co-Founder, Bass & Company

8:30 PANEL DISCUSSION:Active Customer Scoring and Segmentation: Predictive Analytics and Pre/Post Charge Off Tools How can you use scores to make sure that collections are valued optimally? Think analytics are too hot to handle? Learn how to use internal/external pre and post charge-off scoring tools to increase collections, focus resources, and reduce costs.Moderator: Ted Nolte, Senior Vice President and Co-Founder, Bass & Company

Keith Carroll, Vice President Collections, Strategy, Analysis, and Reporting, General Electric Capital CorporationBlanca Perez, Manager Collections, Florida Power & LightDon Davey, Director of Collections and Recovery Solutions, Intelligent ResultsTucker Blair, Credit Manager, Centerpoint Energy

10:00 Networking & Refreshment Break — Hosted by:

10:45 Predict Large C&I Credit Shortfalls: Retail/Regulated Views

• Determine the composition of your service area to define concentration risk

• How to detect and recover potential customer losses in competitive markets

• Analyze and identify geographic and industry concentration and predict seasonal economic ebbs and flows

• Predict delinquencies and what you can do about it• Identify tools that help you identify and quantify future

potential loss• Detect potential losses through affiliates across the

corporate family

Steve Bodnar, Business Markets Credit Manager, Direct Energy Marketing LimitedMike Horn, Supervisor, Credit and Collections, AmerenUE

12:00 Luncheontion, Divestiture, Expansion, and Financing

1:15 PANEL DISCUSSION:Rating Your Collection Agencies: How to Get the Most Out of your Vendor Most utilities have at least 2 collections agencies’ performance to monitor. Examine and benchmark against best practices from different utilities to maximize third-party relationships.

• Annual/semi-annual reviews• Regression analysis• Vintage reporting• The importance of benchmarking against other

industry practices• Champion Challenger programs• Auditing agency workflow• Auditing agency scoring ability: compare with

other agencies

Moderator: Walter Hartory, Corporate Supervisor of Revenue Operations, FirstEnergy Corporation

Mike Horn, Supervisor, Credit and Collections, AmerenUEGary Grant, Manager, Credit and Collections, National Grid

2:45 Networking & Refreshment Break — Hosted by:

6:00–7:00 Wine & Cheese Networking Reception

ck Richardson, Collections Manager, Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District, Delegate 2005

3:45 PANEL DISCUSSION:Capitalize on Industry Best Practices for Selling Active Receivables At an increasing rate, credit and collection managers are recognizing the benefits, and pitfalls, of selling bad debt. In this discussion, examine and benchmark against multiple perspectives.

• Define the optimum point in the credit life cycle for debt selling

• Review high level benefits/cost savings associated with selling of debt

• Examine when selling bad debt is not the right approach for your utility

• Define measures to monitor bad-debt write-offs

Moderator: Bruce A. Gay, President, Monticello Consulting Group, Limited

Bill Van Dam, Director of Credit, Collections, and Revenue Protection, NSTARGregg Holland, Director, Credit and Collections, American Electric PowerDavid Ludwig, President, National Loan ExchangeLinda Haven, Manager Revenue Recovery, Arizona Public ServiceElaine McCallister, Supervisor, Customer Accounting Operations, Progress Energy

DAY THREE: Wednesday, March 8, 2006

7:30 Continental Breakfast

8:30 Chairman’s Review of Day TwoTed Nolte, Senior Vice President and Co-Founder, Bass & Company

8:45 The Aging Workforce: Manage Workforce Attrition through Customized Hiring and Structured Interview Approaches

• Sourcing prospects• Recruiting applicants• Assessing finalists• Hiring winners

Robert Huckemeyer, Operating Supervisor, Revenue Protection, Consolidated Edison

9:30 PANEL DISCUSSION:Increase Collections Efficiency and Effectiveness with Automated SolutionsMany utilities are turning to automation to streamline credit and collections processes. How do you choose which processes to automate and how do you work with your IT department to develop the tools?

• Customer service: linking the back office to the front

• Final bill disconnects• Deposit disconnects• Installment plans• Fraud processes: energy theft• Probate process: work with IT group to

° get report electronically

° encrypt/decrypt data

° automate data scrubbing

° automate output to online report• Metrics to measure success of process changes

Danny Gillam, Business Analyst, Credit and Collections, AquilaRachel B. Roman, Manager, Quality Assurance/Corporate Credit, Tampa Electric CompanyLinda Haven, Manager Revenue Recovery, Arizona Public ServiceDenise S. Ralston, General Manager, Credit and Collections, Allegheny Power

11:00 Networking & Refreshment Break — Hosted by:

11:30 PANEL DISCUSSION:Protect Against Energy Theft: Recovery Programs and Technology Trends When gas or electric energy is unlawfully consumed, it is stealing from everyone who is an honest, paying customer. The impacts of energy theft range from potential safety hazards to increased energy costs. Hear from the energy theft experts about mitigation tactics that work.

• Regulatory compliance issues on disconnects related to fraud: C&I and residential

• Understand your side of law: how effective is it to prosecute?

• Strategic solutions to prevent energy theft

Rita Lynn, Revenue Protection Manager, Florida Power & LightKurt Roussell, Coordinator Revenue Protection, We EnergiesGeorge Balsamo, Meter Security Manager, United Illuminating Company

1:00 Close of Conference

5:15–6:15 Wine & Cheese Networking Reception

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FREE Subscription to Public Utilities Fortnightly

Register by January 20, 2006 and receive your one-year subscription to Public Utilities Fortnightly. Missed the early bird deadline date? You can still purchase a one-year subscription to Public Utilities Fortnightly for only $100. Please check the box on the registration card.

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Rave Reviews form the Platts 4th Annual Credit and Collections for Utilities, February–March 2005

“Practiced, insightful, useful information was gained and best practices will be applied to our operation.”

» Rick Richardson, Collections Manager,

Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District

“Platts continues to upgrade conferences with utility receivable topics that will help me manage more effectively.”

» Tom Bebko, Manager, Credit and Collections,

SCANA Corp.

“The information covered was very informative, exactly what I needed to assist me in providing excellent customer service.”

» Pamela Phillips, Supervisor, Westar Energy

“The conference was filled with practical information. The presenters were extremely well-versed in their areas of expertise.”

» Darlene Green-Connor, Supervisor,

Baltimore Gas & Electric

“This was my 4th year ... each time I attend I take back information to improve benchmarking opportunities.”

» Linda Dobbs, Supervisor, Revenue Management,

Cobb Energy

And Past Attending CompaniesCompanies that Benefit Yearly from the Platts Credit and Collections for Utilities Conference:

ACB International Bank Plc • Accelerated Receivables Solutions

Accenture • AES NewEnergy Inc • Alabama Gas Corp • Alliance

Data Systems • Aquila Inc • Asset Acceptance LLC • Baltimore

Gas & Electric Co • Bass & Co • Cinergy Corp • City of Clarksville

City of Los Angeles • City Of Thomasville • Cleco Power LLC • Cobb

Energy Management • Collection Logistics • Consolidated Edison

Or • Constellation NewEnergy • Creditors Interchange Inc • Deloitte

& Touche LLP • Direct Energy Mktg Ltd • District of Columbia Water

& Sewer Auth • Dominion Virginia Power • DPI Merchant Svcs

Duquense Light Co • E Commerce Group • Econnergy Energy Co

Inc • Esic SA • Essent Retail BV Division Operations • Experian

First Energy Corp • Georgia Power Co • IC System • InoVision

J C Christensen & Assoc Inc • Kaulkin Ginsberg Co • Lakeland

Electric & Water Utilities • McCarthy & White PLLC • Memphis

Light Gas & Water Division • Midland Credit Mgmt Inc • Oklahoma

Natural Gas Co • Omnium Worldwide • OSI • PEPCO Holdings Inc

PG&E • Pinellas County Utilities • Potomac Electric Power Co

Progress Energy • Puget Sound Energy • Reliant Energy • Risk

Mgmt Alternatives Inc • Riverview Collections Inc • Salt River

Project • Santee Cooper • SCANA Energy • Shell Energy Services

Co LLC • SITEL • Sitel Risk Mgmt • Tampa Electric Co • TCN Voice

Broadcasting • Troutman Sanders LLP • TXU Corp • Van Ru Credit

Corp • Varde Partners Inc • Western Union

Register and find more information on our website at www.platts.com/events

Maximize Your Networking Opportunities

Join Bass & Company, PAR3 Communications, Asset Acceptance, National Loan Exchange, Intelligent Results, and Bottom Line Impact

in showcasing your products and services to senior level decision makers. Platts 5th Annual Credit and Collections for Utilities

conference offers you an excellent opportunity to maximize your 2006 marketing dollars through these sponsorship opportunities:

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Branded Product Giveaways • Exhibits

To learn more about sponsorship & exhibit opportunities, please contact Lorne Grout at 781-860-6112

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Discounts: Discounts or promotional offers cannot be combined. Early Bird Discount — Register by January 20, 2006 to SAVE $400 off your registration fee. Early Bird discount may NOT be combined with the Team Discount or any other promotional offer. Team Discount — Register 3 attendees and send 1 additional attendee from your organization FREE. All registrations must be paid for at the same time to qualify. The Team Discount may NOT be combined with any other promotional offer.Government/Muni/Coop Discount — Govt/Muni/Coop attendees qualify for the Team Discount. Promotional offers cannot be applied to the Govt/Muni/Coop Discount.

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5th Annual

Retail/Regulated Credit Risks; Analytics and Automation

Integration; Collection Techniques to Match High Energy Costs

Credit and Collections for Utilities Credit and Collections for Utilities

Learn and Interact With More Than 30 Utility Revenue Collections Experts From;

Federal Reserve Bank • AEP • Nevada PUC • Massachusetts DTEDirect Energy Marketing Limited • Nicor Services • Progress Energy

Niagara Mohawk • Exelon • Duke Power • GE Capital • Bass & Company FPL • FirstEnergy Corp. • Atmos Energy • Centerpoint Energy • AquilaPAR3 • Tampa Electric Company • Pepco Holdings, Inc. • AmerenUE

We Energies • Austin Energy • Arizona Public Service • Great Lakes Energy Intelligent Results • SCANA Corp. • United Illuminating Company Consolidated Edison • Cinergy Corp. • NSTAR • Allegheny Power

About Solutions to Manage Retail/Regulated Credit and Collections Risk:

National/Consumer Debt • High Gas Prices • Large C&I Credit RiskCustomer Switching • Consumer Complaints • PSC/PUC Relations

Bankruptcy • Sarbanes-Oxley • Energy Theft • Scoring • SegmentationSelling Bad Debt • Disconnects • IT Relations • Automated Solutions

Retiring Workforce Issues • Agency Management • AMR • BenchmarkingPredictive Analytics .... And More (See Inside for Details)!

Register by January 20, 2006 to SAVE $400 and Receive a One Year Subscription to Public Utilities Fortnightly (a $100 value)!