APOGEE Announces October Conference & User Group Meetings

Atlanta, July 26, 2006. Atlanta-based APOGEE Interactive, Inc., a leading provider of Internet solutions for the energy industry, announced today the dates for their 12th Annual Online Solutions Workshop and User Group Meetings. Conducted at their corporate headquarters in the Oglethorpe Power building's auditorium October 17-19th, 2006, this meeting is expected to draw more than 100 of the firm's most active users, prospects and business partners. The meeting's theme parallels APOGEE's focus in assisting hundreds of US utilities by increasing customer satisfaction while reducing costs. The firm's Internet applications help utilities strengthen customer relationships and enable better communication regarding energy use, energy efficiency, and new technologies.

Wednesday, Oct 18th 12th Annual Innovative Online Solutions Workshop

This year's commanding speaker lineup features JD Power & Associates' Jeff Conklin, Senior Director in the Energy Utilities Practice. Mr. Conklin will present findings from the 2006 "Trends in Utility Customer Satisfaction Survey." For this audience, he will add special emphasis on how websites and offering web-based self-service affects customer satisfaction. And he'll provide an update on other intriguing findings from previous year's presentations including how customers value good customer service over price, a trend that has shown a steady increase since 1999.

Joining Mr. Conklin as featured speakers on the program are Dennis Smith, VP of Research & Information Delivery from Chartwell sharing results of their research into trends and participation rates in web-based customer service, and Chris Bond, User Interface Consultant from Usability Concepts, LLC, who will present a comparative study of website usability.

Also making panel presentations on Wednesday the 18th are a cadre of APOGEE's most innovative users sharing their experiences with existing and evolving products. These include representatives from some of the country's largest and leading utility companies including one of the firm's newest customers, American Electric Power. Topics include experience with APOGEE's applications that are used directly at the utility's website by residential and commercial customers (energy savings calculators, information dash-boards, and interactive content), case studies of applications used by CSRs resolving billing inquiries (BillingInsights™), and highlights from energy professionals producing on-site audit reports using EnergyInsights™.

Rounding out the Wednesday Conference program are members of APOGEE's cutting-edge new product development team sharing their perspectives on where web-based self-service and problem solving applications are going next and unveiling never-before-seen tools capable of helping utilities achieve unmatched levels of online customer self-service.

More Details on the Meetings - Day Prior and Following

Tuesday, Oct 17th: User Group Meetings. As long-time customers know, APOGEE's products are developed and enhanced based on their input. Throughout the year, the firm conducts user group meetings by webinar. But once a year, active customers are asked to bring their ideas in person, roll up their sleeves, and really engage in producing the next generation of capabilities they would like to see the products offer. This capabilities list forms the production backlog. APOGEE works to enable these enhancements, which are offered to existing customers at no additional cost. (Creating a reason to purchase early in a product's life, and rightfully rewarding customers for their guidance.) This year, there will be one-to-two hour sessions devoted to these applications:

• HomeEnergyCalculator™
• BillingInsights™
• CommercialEnergyCalculator™
• ProgressInsights™
• EnergyInsights™
• Kids' Korner

Thursday, Oct 19th: 3rd Annual Web Boot Camp. With its military theme, the Web Boot camp is a fun mix of education and training drills designed for anyone in a utility with responsibility for the website. Based on the solid curriculum in Jakob Nielsen's respected textbook, "Designing Web Usability," APOGEE's practicing developers, webmasters, artists, and writers share tips and traps to avoid in creating a great website. Participants are surveyed prior to attending to assure as many of their specific needs as possible are met. Topics Include:

• Characteristics of Great Utility Websites
• Writing for the Web
• Elements of Design
• Maintaining Your Website
• Content Management Systems
• Web Analytics
• Marketing Your Website
• Legal and Security Issues
• Usability Analysis
• Constructive Website Reviews and Idea Sharing

For more information contact Karen Morris 770-270-6501, kmorris@apogee.net or to register for the event online visit www.apogee.net/events