Apogee Energy Calculator Helps Riverside Public Utilities Consumers Prepare for Heating Bills

ATLANTA, Dec. 7, 2005 - Consumers bracing for higher heating costs this winter can find ways to save on energy costs with the HomeEnergyCalculator™ now featured on Riverside Public Utilities' Web site and developed by Apogee Interactive.

Consumer attention is turning to energy costs as the U.S. Energy Information Administration predicts home heating costs will increase an average of 48 percent nationwide this winter. Customers can access the Apogee calculator on the Web sites of Riverside, Colton and Imperial Irrigation District public utilities, plus others in the Southern California Public Power Authority who are redoubling their energy conservation educational efforts.

Using the HomeEnergyCalculator, consumers can get quick estimates of potential savings for commonly considered improvements like adding more insulation, changing thermostat settings, tightening the home with caulking and weather-stripping, replacing an old water heater, upgrading their heating system and many others.

"This Web-based calculator puts actionable energy saving information at our customers' fingertips, helping them to decide how and where they may want to make changes," said Mike Bacich, public benefits and business relations manager for Riverside Public Utilities. "We've also added a commercial energy calculator for our small to medium-sized businesses. These online tools complement our in-person educational efforts such as our school programs and small business energy audits," Bacich added.

Apogee's interactive calculator automatically factors in the utility's energy prices, local weather and home construction norms along with a few key facts about the house from the consumer to conduct an analysis. Within seconds, the calculator displays the home's estimated energy use by month, year, and major appliance/end-use category. From there, residents can run a variety of energy saving scenarios to see what actions or measures will likely save them the most - and the least.

Now hosting the calculator and a full HomeEnergySuite of applications for 150 electric, gas and combination utilities nationwide, Apogee most recently integrated a "contextual tip" section into the calculator. As customers click to set-up their base house or as they run scenarios on their home, improvement ideas relevant to their situation pop up in a tips box. Utilities can have special offers like rebate notices pop up for customers when they certain equipment in their homes. If consumers want to know more, they can link to a complete reference library of fully illustrated, educational energy efficiency topics.

The subscribing utility can update the calculator at any time for rate changes and even display timely messages and seasonal energy saving tips on the opening screen. They also have real-time access to usage information showing how many people came to the calculator, how many used it, how many scenarios they ran and perhaps most interesting, what they tried on their homes. "We've constructed a great deal of flexibility into this application to make it easy for utilities to customize the calculator using a Web-based administration tool," explained Tom DuBos, Apogee's West Coast Account Executive.

About Apogee Interactive, Inc.
Apogee (www.apogee.net) is a full-service online solutions firm celebrating 11 years of service to major investor-owned utilities and many of the largest cooperative, municipal and public power systems and associations in the US. Apogee offers online energy use analysis tools, the Study Center Web-based eLearning training portal (www.study-center.com), website design services and a full online library of energy efficiency Web content.

About Riverside Public Utilities
Riverside Public Utilities (www.riversideca.gov) is a combination water and electric municipal utility serving the City of Riverside. Its mission is to provide the highest quality water and electric service at the lowest possible cost to benefit the community.

Contact:
Apogee Interactive Inc.:
770/270-6501

GoodCents Solutions:
678.836.1088