| RER ANNOUNCES THE RELEASE OF METRIXND™ VERSION 2.6 SOFTWARE FOR SHORT-TERM ENERGY AND PRICE FORECASTING System Enables Energy Service Providers to Create Fast and Accurate Forecasts SAN DIEGO, Calif. - April 6, 2001 - Regional Economic Research, Inc. (RER), the leader in energy forecasting, announces the latest release of its flagship product MetrixND™. With applications ranging from monthly revenue forecasting to hourly load forecasting for the balance of the day, MetrixND is the tool of choice for energy forecasters worldwide. In competitive settings, accurate forecasting has immediate bottom-line impacts. Independent system operators, utilities, retailers, municipalities, and energy cooperatives use MetrixND for a variety of retail forecasting and profiling problems. MetrixND Version 2.6 has extended import capabilities and now works with Microsoft Data Link (.UDL) files. New transformation functions give users greater versatility in working with their data. Other new features, such as improved drag and drop logic, enhance the user interface. MetrixND provides an unparalleled set of modeling techniques, including advanced artificial neural networks, multivariate regression, time series, and ARIMA. All this forecasting power is packaged into an easy-to-use interface that enables the rapid development of forecasting models customized for a specific area. According to Frank Monforte, Vice President of RER's Forecasting Division, "MetrixND is selected as the tool of choice for energy forecasters again and again. Our clients appreciate the flexibility of the software and rely on the accurate forecasts that MetrixND produces." Acclaimed for its versatility and superior user interface, MetrixND applications include forecasting short-term loads and prices, load profiling, retail scheduling, monthly sales forecasting, and long-term planning. First released in 1997, MetrixND has a large and varied user community consisting of over 100 utilities, energy service providers, municipals, and ISO organizations. Mark Hayden, Business Analyst of FirstEnergy Corp., states, "Through its innovative user-friendly interface, MetrixND provides FirstEnergy with the ability to explore several different model variations in a relatively short period of time. And although simple to use, MetrixND provides the powerful forecasting tools required in today's retail energy business." RER is a professional research and consulting firm devoted to the development and implementation of flexible forecasting tools and services. RER's strong record in energy economics, coupled with over two decades of experience in the design and implementation of forecasting solutions, puts RER at the forefront of energy forecasting. For more information, contact RER at 1-800-755-9585 or info@rer.com. A demonstration of MetrixND is available on RER's website http://www.rer.com. Contact: Ms. Shannon Ashburn 858-481-0081, shannon@rer.com. |