Ventyx Announces Smart Grid Operations Solution for EMEA

Integrated Software Suite Connects Demand Response and Distributed Generation Resources with Utility Commercial Operations for Efficient Smart Grid Management

LONDON, January 6 - Ventyx(R), the world's largest private software, data and advisory
services provider to the energy and utility industry, today announced
availability of the Ventyx Smart Grid Operations
(www1.ventyx.com/solutions/smart-grid.asp) solution in the Europe,
Middle East and Africa (EMEA) region. An integral component of the first
fully integrated SmartGridCity(TM) in Boulder, Colorado, the solution offers
the only proven technology for successful integration of the commercial
operations value chain for Smart Grids from portfolio optimization to
customer program management.

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"Ventyx is building upon the successes and lessons learned in Boulder and
employing them for our utility customers in EMEA," said Ventyx VP, EMEA,
Richard Jones. "As a premier SmartGridCity partner, we have successfully
implemented the Smart Grid Operations solution to transform diverse data from
the Smart Grid into more accurate price and load forecasts and enable the
connection of customer actions to the utility's trading portfolio operations
and investment decisions. By providing this solution to our customers in
EMEA, we can help them enhance the reliability of their grid as well, while
also giving customers greater insight and control over their energy use,
environmental footprint and overall energy economics."

The integrated Ventyx Smart Grid Operations software suite supports the
commercial and retail utility operations required to deliver effective demand
response (DR) programs, distributed energy management, renewable generation
and resource optimization for successful Smart Grid deployments. It provides
this capability by enabling utilities to aggregate customer-level DR and
distributed generation (DG) into commercially actionable Virtual Power
Plants. The solution also improves DR program management, effectively
managing customer enrollment, device tracking and DR forecasting.
Furthermore, Smart Grid Operations enables utilities to efficiently calculate
and communicate price and environmental signals to customers, portals and
load control programs. And, it provides advanced reporting capabilities for
documenting program- and customer-level economic and environmental benefits,
a key to meeting corporate and regulatory measurement and reporting
requirements.

The Smart Grid Operations solution is available immediately from Ventyx
and its certified reseller partners. For more information, contact your
Ventyx sales representative or email sales@ventyx.com. Or, visit our Website
at www1.ventyx.com/solutions/smart-grid.asp

Smart Grid Readiness Program

Xcel Energy recently rolled out the Ventyx Smart Grid Operations solution
as part of the first phase of its SmartGridCity project, which has already
realized some early benefits (
www.xcelenergy.com/Minnesota/Company/Newsroom/Pages/NewsRelease2009-09
-08-SmartGridCitybecomesfirstfullyfunctioningsmartcityintheworld.aspx),
including increased reliability and improved customer access to energy use
information. Xcel Energy's SmartGridCity has been hailed
(www.guardian.co.uk/business/2009/aug/03/ofgem-smart-grid-cities) as
a model for awards from Ofgem's pounds Sterling 500 million Low Carbon
Networks Fund for large-scale trials of advanced technology and commercial
initiatives.

In order to help energy companies in Europe understand how they can
replicate this success, Ventyx has launched an exclusive Smart Grid Readiness
Program. The program offers a VIP tour of SmartGridCity in Boulder, as well
as a tour of Xcel Energy's Operations Center in Denver. The tour provides
utilities with an overview and concrete examples of operating a Smart Grid
built around key themes such as enabling optimized demand response and
distributed generation on the distribution network, Virtual Power Plants and
the involvement of technology partners in Smart Grid deployments.

The program also includes strategies for ensuring utilities receive part
of the recently announced pounds Sterling 500 million Low Carbon Networks
(LCN) Fund for large-scale trials of advanced technology and commercial
initiatives. Ventyx has been engaged in helping clients with the U.S.
American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), and the company has key
resources in place to help utilities in the UK prepare their response to the
Ofgem fund.

"The environment in which utilities operate in EMEA is growing
increasingly complex and constantly more demanding, but so are the
opportunities for meeting these demands with funding from the Ofgem LCN
fund," said Jones. "Ventyx is uniquely qualified to help utilities navigate
these new challenges. Not only have we been delivering successful solutions
to this industry for more than 30 years; as a founding partner of the
SmartGridCity Consortium, we have taken the lessons we learned in Boulder and
are employing them as best practices in our Smart Grid Operations solution.
As a result, we have the deep domain expertise necessary to help our clients
ensure their next-generation electric grid offers the security, reliability
and resiliency to meet their needs as well as the needs of their customers."

For more information on the Ventyx Smart Grid Readiness Program, contact
Sarah Anstee at +44-1483-722777 or sarah.anstee@ventyx.com.

Additionally, interested parties can attend a Ventyx hosted seminar with
the primary purpose of presenting the source-to-socket Smart Grid ecosystem
and opportunities for utilities around Smart Grid and the Ofgem LCN fund in
April 2009. The event will provide experts to discuss SmartGridCity and Xcel
Energy, operations, Virtual Power Plants, linking generation to retail
operations and the OFGEM LCN Fund. Contact Sarah Anstee at +44-1483-722777 or
sarah.anstee@ventyx.com for details.

About Xcel Energy

Xcel Energy is a major U.S. electricity and natural gas company with
regulated operations in eight Western and Midwestern states. Xcel Energy
provides a comprehensive portfolio of energy-related products and services to
3.3 million electricity customers and 1.8 million natural gas customers
through its regulated operating companies. Company headquarters are located
in Minneapolis. More information is available at www.xcelenergy.com.

About Ventyx

Ventyx is a leading business solutions provider, delivering asset
management, mobile workforce management, energy portfolio management, Smart
Grid Operations, renewable energy and customer care solutions to more than
1,250 energy, utility and communications customers, as well as to
asset-intensive customers in selected commercial markets. Ventyx delivers
best-of-breed business solutions that maximize operational and financial
performance, backed by the industry's deepest available industry-specific
domain expertise. For more information, visit our Website at www.ventyx.com.

Ventyx is a registered trademark of Ventyx Inc. Other company and product
names may be trademarks of the respective companies with which they are
associated.

Sarah Anstee, Ventyx Corporate Communications, +44-1483-722777, sarah.anstee at ventyx.com