Jackson Energy Wins 2007 UTC Apex Award

May 8, 2007

For More Information
Kristy Weinshel
202.833.6815
kristy.weinshel@utc.org [1]

Ed Tan
408.528.2996
ed.tan@motorola.com [2]

Jackson Energy Wins 2007 UTC Apex Award

Austin, TX – The winners of the 2007 UTC Apex Award were honored this morning at UTC TELECOM 2007. This year's winners were selected by distinguished and independent panel of judges selected by UTC’s board of directors.

"The UTC Apex Award was created three years ago to recognize a utility's outstanding use of IT and Telecom at critical infrastructure companies. Yet, taken as a whole, these submissions highlighting the importance of an entire profession on the communities they serve," said UTC Chairman of the Board Joseph Lackey, Telecommunications Supervisor at Southside Electric Coop in Crewe, Va.

Jackson Energy Authority of Jackson, Tennessee won the UTC Apex Award based on their efforts to revitalize Western Tennessee one community at a time. They built the nation’s largest Fiber to the Home network and introduced a broadband telecommunication service to the community in the form of cable television, high-speed Internet access and telephone services. This fiber network attracts families and business to the area, putting this small town area on the same digital edge as many big cities. JEA's story shows how by leveraging the utility’s network they’ve enhanced an entire community and the way they live and do business.

There were two runners up for the 2007 UTC Apex Award: Lower Colorado River Authority of Austin, TX, and Pepco Holdings, Inc. of Washington, DC. LCRA helped its community by providing a better dispatch system to a local non-profit that helped transport elderly and disabled rural residents around the county. PEPCO was recognized for a project that used artificial intelligence to automate a distribution network and provide a flexible control system.

"Overall, those recognized by the UTC Apex Award this year highlighted a number of issues important to today’s utility company," said UTC President and CEO William R. Moroney. "These stories highlight the importance of communication systems in a wide variety of situations."

Chris Banakis, Vice President for the Utility Practice at Motorola, sponsor of the UTC Apex Award, said, "Innovation and excellence are the cornerstones of the UTC Apex Award and they were certainly evident in this year's winners. Each of these companies was clearly focused on ways to better serve their customers, finding a different approach that really made a difference in their community."

The UTC Apex Award was created to recognize a utility's public service through use of telecommunications, raise awareness of the important role telecommunications systems play in ensuring the reliability of utility services and highlight creative and innovative approaches that promote quality and service excellence by utility companies.

To see all the incredible stories about excellence and innovation in utility telecom, please visit the UTC Apex Award web site at www.utcapexaward.utc.org [3].

Utilities Telecom Council
The Utilities Telecom Council (UTC) is a global trade association dedicated to creating a favorable business, regulatory, and technological environment for companies that own, manage, or provide critical telecommunications systems in support of their core business. Founded in 1948 to advocate for the allocation of additional radio spectrum for power utilities, UTC has evolved into a dynamic organization that represents the broad communications interests of electric, gas, and water utilities; natural gas pipelines; other critical infrastructure entities; and other industry stakeholders.

Motorola
Motorola is a Fortune 100 global communications leader that provides seamless mobility products and solutions across broadband, embedded systems and wireless networks. In your home, auto, workplace and all spaces in between, seamless mobility means you can reach the people, things and information you need, anywhere, anytime. Seamless mobility harnesses the power of technology convergence and enables smarter, faster, cost-effective and flexible communication. Motorola had sales of US $31.3 billion in 2004. For more information: www.motorola.com [4].

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