Commerce Energy Teams with Structure to Synchronize Customer Billing Information with ERCOT Load Service Data

Commerce Energy Group (Amex:EGR) and The Structure Group®, have announced the successful completion of a Texas Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) market synchronization project at Commerce Energy that has reduced discrepancies and variances between ERCOT’s SCR 727 ESIID Service History & Usage Extract data and internal customer billing data to less than one percent. The project was initiated in September 2007 and returned these results in less than four months. Commerce Energy, based in Costa Mesa, California, is a leading retail power and gas marketer with a national presence. Over the past two years, Commerce Energy has experienced tremendous growth in its Texas ERCOT customer base. Acquiring new customers at a rapid pace, the company wanted to closely track and manage customer ownership discrepancies between its internal customer billing records and ERCOT’s SCR 727 ESIID Service History & Usage Extract data. Utilizing Structure’s proprietary Load Analysis Tool (LAT™), which was customized specifically for Commerce Energy, Structure consultants helped Commerce Energy to create a system to extract, compare and reconcile data from both ERCOT and the Commerce Energy billing system. As a result of this combined effort, Commerce Energy has reduced the discrepancy to less than one percent of its total base of 70,000 ERCOT customers. The project was initiated by Mark Podorsky, vice president of Operations for Commerce Energy. "Energy marketers work on tight margins,” said Podorsky. "In order for us to sustain aggressive growth in Texas, we need an accurate assessment of customer revenue and cost to serve. This is only going to happen if ERCOT and Commerce Energy agree on the customers we serve. The new system provided by Structure has allowed us to complete reconciliation between two of the three entities of our Texas ERCOT market synchronization efforts and will greatly expand our reporting capabilities, enhance our billing system and have a positive impact on our bottom line.” "The Structure Group’s deep energy industry expertise, considerable ERCOT experience, and solid software skills were a great complement to our in-house IT team,” said Kathleen Lindner, Chief Information Officer at Commerce Energy. "We were able to achieve impressive results in only about four months.” In the next phase, Commerce Energy will integrate Transmission Distribution Service Provider (TDSP) data. This will provide Commerce Energy with a complete ERCOT market assessment and synchronization. "Based on the success of these projects to date, Commerce Energy and Structure are looking to extend this capability across all the markets and customers we serve,” said Podorsky.” The Structure Group has nine years of experience with more than 25 clients in ERCOT and similar qualifications across North America. "Commerce Energy’s vision for ERCOT data reconciliation and reporting was an excellent fit for our consultants’ energy industry expertise, software delivery skills and enhancement of an existing solution. Extending this to other regions that are less standard than ERCOT is the next logical step that we’re ready to tackle,” said Structure Principal, Michael Cutler. "We have enjoyed working on several successful projects with Commerce Energy, and we look forward to expanding and enhancing our relationship in the future.” About Commerce Energy Group, Inc. Commerce Energy Group, Inc. (Commerce) is a leading independent U.S. electricity and natural gas marketing company, operating through its wholly-owned subsidiaries Commerce Energy, Inc. and Skipping Stone Inc. Commerce is publicly traded on the American Stock Exchange (Amex) under the symbol EGR. Commerce Energy, Inc. is licensed by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and by state regulatory agencies as an unregulated retail marketer of natural gas and electricity to homeowners, commercial and industrial consumers and institutional customers. Headquartered in Costa Mesa, California, the company also has an office in Dallas, Texas, as well as several area offices located around the U.S. For nearly a decade, customers have relied on Commerce to deliver competitive pricing, innovative product offerings and personalized customer service, in addition to quality gas and electric services. For more information, visit www.CommerceEnergy.com. About The Structure Group® Celebrating its 10th Anniversary in 2008, The Structure Group® has helped launch many of the energy markets it serves today with consulting, software and services. Structure has assisted more than 70 market participants through nearly a dozen market implementations or redesigns, spanning every North American ISO/RTO. Whether it’s transitioning to Texas Nodal, California MRTU, the Midwest ISO ASM, or enhancements across the northeast markets, Structure's seasoned professionals have the experience necessary to help market participants capitalize on new opportunities, improve profitability, and mitigate risks. Structure has subject-matter experts in almost every North American market, a proven market transition methodology, and a full suite of consulting services for every stage of market development and implementation. In addition to the Structure nMarket® software suite, the industry standard for ISO market transactions and settlement, Structure offers comprehensive consulting services and deep energy industry expertise through five consulting practices: Market Solutions, Energy Trading & Risk management, Generation Operations & Optimization, Energy/Utility Enterprise Asset Management, and AMI/MDM - SmartGrid. For more information, visit www.thestructuregroup.com.