PRM Selects Microsoft BizTalk Server 2000 to Manage Real-Time Energy Transactions and Forecast Supply and Demand

REDMOND, WASH. SEPT. 5, 2001 — Microsoft Corp. today announced that Power Resource Managers LLP (PRM), one of the nation’s leading independent power management companies, has selected Microsoft®
BizTalk (TM) Server 2000 to provide enterprise application integration, business-to-business integration and business process orchestration for PowerBiz (TM) , its energy management infrastructure. The PowerBiz solution allows PRM to integrate vital forecast and trading information with existing applications via XML, giving the organization accurate, real-time information regarding energy consumption, energy generation constraints, trends, and market and weather conditions, which the company needs to predict and schedule electricity for its clients.

With today’s volatile energy prices, PRM officials knew the company needed an infrastructure that could easily provide real-time management information about its wholesale energy transactions, while providing the tools to enable rapid and informed decisions based on supply and demand. PRM selected Equarius ( http://www.equarius.com/ ), a Microsoft Gold Certified provider, to develop PowerBiz, utilizing the XML-based integration and orchestration capabilities of BizTalk Server 2000. Previously, PRM relied on manual information exchange with its suppliers and buyers via fax or e-mail, which became too costly and unreliable in today’s competitive energy market. PRM was an early leader in its market and has built a powerful solution that is already providing increased productivity and efficiencies to its customers.

“Using the BizTalk-built PowerBiz solution, we have seen an increase in forecasting accuracy and improved reliability across all facets of our business,” said Loren Baker, senior vice president at PRM. “These benefits have increased scheduler productivity, and as a result, we estimate that we can scale up to 15 to 20 times the volume of energy under management. This is all vital to PRM to support our clients’ forecasting and scheduling needs without placing undue stress on the industry’s fragile energy resources.”

The PRM PowerBiz solution is an example of Equarius’ innovative Energy Value Chain Optimization solution, which allows energy companies to integrate and graphically visualize all of their business information. More information about PRM’s implementation can be found at http://www.microsoft.com/servers/evaluation/casestudies/ .

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