CPL RETAIL ENERGY BRINGS DEMAND-RESPONSE, ENERGY EFFICIENCY PILOT PROGRAM TO CORPUS CHRISTI

CPL BrightHome aimed at reducing energy usage and overall costs

Corpus Christi, TX (May 28, 2009) – CPL Retail Energy is bringing a new opportunity for 350 customers in and around Corpus Christi to reduce their overall usage this summer with the launch of CPL BrightHome – a first-in-kind demand-response and energy efficiency pilot program for residential customers.

Participants in the CPL BrightHome pilot will receive: a full home energy audit from CPL’s HERS-rated home energy auditors; whole-home weatherization measures; and a new programmable thermostat capable of receiving and displaying messages, and turning back the air conditioning, during peak usage periods. AEP Texas is partnering with CPL on the pilot.

“Our goal for the CPL BrightHome pilot is to determine what the opportunities are to engage in demand-response programs at the residential level, and help our customers reduce their usage in a long-term, meaningful way,” said David Dollihite, Vice President of Product Development, CPL Retail Energy. Dollihite advised that by reducing overall demand during peak periods when usage and prices are higher, participating customers and companies like CPL and AEP Texas are helping keep those higher-priced peak periods to a minimum, benefitting all Texas consumers both from a reliability standpoint, and by putting downward pressure on electricity prices.

“CPL fundamentally believes that it’s our job to do more than simply bill our customers each month,” said Dollihite. “By marrying new technology that makes it more cost-efficient to bring demand-response programs to individual homes along with thorough, whole-home weatherization measures to make those homes more efficient, we’re able to help our customers take more control over their energy usage, and ultimately, their energy costs.”

In similar programs, CPL’s affiliate Direct Energy has seen residential consumers here in Texas reduce their usage by 19 percent on average through weatherization measures alone. Those measures – which will also be applied to CPL BrightHome participants – include sealing up leaks inside the home’s ductwork and windows and doors, for example. Recent data has shown that if all of the leaks are added up, the average North American home would have a hole in the wall the size of a basketball.

The thermostat installation, home energy audit, and weatherization energy efficiency upgrades will be conducted by employees of CPL and its affiliate Wendland Air Conditioning and Heating, based in Portland, TX.

CPL is currently recruiting pilot participants, and will be launching a CPL BrightHome page on its website next week. In the meantime, interested consumers can call 1.888.411.3690. CPL BrightHome participants must live in a single-family home and be a customer of CPL Retail Energy.

About CPL Retail Energy:
CPL Retail Energy is part of the Centrica group of companies, one of the largest multi-state providers of retail energy services in North America. The North American operations have grown to more than 5 million residential and commercial customer relationships. Through its Direct Energy, CPL Retail Energy and WTU Retail Energy brands, the company is the third largest retail energy provider in Texas, and owns a series of energy-related services companies. The company also offers comprehensive energy solutions to more than 60,000 businesses across North America. Globally, the Centrica group of companies is a leading provider of energy and other essential services with approximately 32 million customer relationships. For more information, visit www.cplretailenergy.com.