SoftSmiths to provide NIPSCO with GridAmerica interface.

Houston, TX. – August 27, 2002 – Today, SoftSmiths announced an agreement with Northern Indiana Public Service Company (NIPSCO) to provide an interface with GridAmerica - an independent for-profit transmission company that operates under the MidWest Independent System Operator (MISO). NIPSCO, a Nisource company, is the largest natural gas distribution company, and the second largest electric distribution company, in Indiana. SoftSmiths delivers critical e-Business solutions and services that enable energy industry participants to enhance profitability and reliability in the competitive marketplace.

NIPSCO requires an interface between its e-Wheel Transmission Scheduling application and GridAmerica, to automatically load loss schedule information into e-Wheel for display in interchange checkout screens. As a participant in the MISO, NIPSCO was looking for a seamlessly integrated solution, leveraging the e-Wheel application that already supports its transmission scheduling operations.

e-Wheel is designed for Transmission Providers, Control Area Operators, and RTO's who face an increasingly diverse customer service base and require cutting-edge technology to accommodate transaction rates in the hundreds of thousands. SoftSmiths' e-Wheel Suite provides just that - a flexible, scalable business technology solution, seamlessly integrating Scheduling, Transmission Services, ATC Management, Interchange Checkout, EMS integration, Accounting and Reporting - so that Transmission Providers can stay on top in the changing business environment. The e-Wheel suite also provides NIPSCO with the NERC 1.7 compliant e-Authority and e-Approval applications.

About SoftSmiths

SoftSmiths, Inc. is a Texas-based, privately held corporation. The company has been successfully delivering e-business solutions to energy service companies since commencing commercial operations in January 1997.

SoftSmiths is a leading provider of business critical Transaction Management Systems and services to the energy industry. SoftSmiths products are designed to address increased customer and transaction volumes and yield increased operational efficiencies, thereby enabling its customers to profitably operate in the competitive marketplace.

SoftSmiths' highly differentiated position in the market is a result of its in-depth knowledge of the industry’s business practices, having the broadest product development strategy and using its intellectual property and consulting service to meet its customer’s competitive business requirements.

SoftSmiths is a registered trademark of SoftSmiths, Inc. All other products are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective companies.

Contact Information:

Softsmiths Inc.
Hugo Stappers
Phone:    713.626.9184
Fax:          713.626.0186
Email:      mkt@softsmiths.com
Website:  www.softsmiths.com

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