Cincinnati, September 15, 2009 — Duke Energy and Convergys Corp. agreed to provide a new billing and customer management solution to support the rapid advance of smart grid technology and offer more effective customer service experience for utility customers.

Convergys will support Duke Energy in developing and implementing smart grid technology for about four million electric and gas customers in five states through the provisioning of Convergys rating and billing, customer management and collections modules as part of a scalable, real time Smart Customer Information System (CIS) solution.

Duke Energy’s 5-year $1 billion smart grid plan will incorporate automated equipment, wireless sensing devices and advanced meters to create a digital, real-time, networked power delivery system that provides two-way communication between Duke Energy and its customers. This will put more information and choice into the hands of Duke Energy’s customers, empowering them to make wiser energy decisions.

Duke Energy selected the Convergys Smart CIS Solution to deliver scalable real-time rating, dynamic billing, flexible customer and account management, and collections capabilities.

The solution enables Duke Energy to address the unprecedented challenges and opportunities facing the energy industry today by not only enabling the energy savings, reduced costs, and increased reliability of the smart grid, but most importantly, enabling the product offers and quicker access to data that help Duke Energy's customers manage and reduce energy consumption.