Novell and UtiliCorp Form Partnership to Deliver Smart Energy Networks over Utility Power Lines

Press Release

NEST Powerline Technology Allows Utility Companies to Provide Network Data Communications into the Home and Office

WASHINGTON, DC -- September 13, 1995 -- Novell®, Inc. and UtiliCorp United today announced a partnership that will utilize existing power lines to better manage energy consumption in home and business environments. As the founding members of the Smart Energy Network Alliance, an open industry consortium, Novell and UtiliCorp will use Novell Embedded Systems Technology (NEST) to exchange information over conventional power lines. This capability will form the basis of new energy management programs that will result in more efficient and economic use of energy.

Under the terms of this partnership, Novell and UtiliCorp will co-develop and jointly market applications that allow customers to optimize their use of energy on a 24 hour, real-time basis. The two companies will jointly market products, expected to be commercially available during 1996, through a combined Novell and UtiliCorp United EnergyOne branding program.

"Our two companies share a global vision in which the future of information systems and energy use are increasingly intertwined," said Richard C. Green, Jr., UtiliCorp chairman and president. "This partnership launches the interface between Novell's networking technology and the utility industry's infrastructure and customer base, thereby opening the door to industry-wide standards for networked communications."

Smart Energy Network Alliance

"Novell, through the Smart Energy Network Alliance and partnerships, is committed to providing leadership in defining the standards for future energy programs, network management and other smart energy network solutions," said Robert J. Frankenberg, chairman and CEO of Novell. "As the leading supplier of networking technology and services, Novell is strategically positioned to bring the utility industry into the world of smart energy networks and make networking as pervasive as the electric utility."

The goal of the Smart Energy Network Alliance is to accelerate the delivery of economical energy management solutions based on networking technologies such as NEST, and to provide a platform for standardization and cooperation between utilities, equipment and appliance manufacturers, and software application developers. The alliance will allow Novell to leverage their proven core technologies to provide the tools and support for energy companies to offer consumers data communications within their existing energy infrastructure.

As Novell's founding partner, UtiliCorp will bring both its own proprietary energy management technology as well as the expertise it has developed as a leader in the world's energy market.

Novell Announces NEST Powerline Technology

Novell's NEST Powerline technology uses existing power lines to transfer data at speeds up to 2 megabits per second while making bi-directional network communications as simple as plugging an intelligent device into an electric wall outlet. The result is a smart energy network capable of providing data services such as power quality solutions, security monitoring systems, and global network services.

Utility companies will use NEST Powerline technology to fully automate and manage everything on a smart energy network from temperature controls to refrigerators, air conditioners and fax machines. This level of control will allow utilities to exercise demand side power management and allocate energy resources depending on the specific need of a device at a given time. This method of energy resource management will result in significant benefits to all who consume energy, as well as to utilities that generate and distribute energy to their customers.

"Smart energy network management means that large companies, businesses of all sizes and the home consumer, will receive more value for their energy expenditures," said Frankenberg. "Energy customers will be able to achieve dramatic energy efficiencies by making the energy consuming devices intelligent with NEST, and then using the energy management applications co-developed by UtiliCorp and Novell to operate them more efficiently. This kind of highly efficient energy management is a tremendous benefit to the environment, as well as to the home and business owner," Frankenberg added.

UtiliCorp

UtiliCorp United is an international electric and gas company with energy customers and operations across the U.S. and in Canada, Great Britain, New Zealand, Australia and Jamaica. Earlier this year it launched EnergyOne, the first nationally branded line of products and services for electric and gas utility customers. UtiliCorp has grown rapidly over the past decade through utility mergers and acquisitions and by starting non-regulated energy related businesses.