Cinergy Adopts @RISK to
Balance Acquisitions

CINCINNATI, OH - 15 June 2001 - Cincinnati-based Cinergy Corporation has partnered with Palisade Corporation to use @RISK company-wide for a range of investment decisions. @RISK, the Monte Carlo simulation add-in to Excel, is the world’s most widely-used risk analysis tool. The Midwestern utility cites deregulation, which has forced energy companies to react more quickly to change, as a key factor in the licensing decision.

Senior Analyst Soubhagya Parija in Cinergy’s Corporate Development Department lists acquisitions among the many uses of @RISK. “In our evaluations of these possible transactions, we are using data on the value of drivers, return on capital, and the value at risk of the target company. The information comes from public and other sources outside the target company, and the goal is to reveal real asset values.” Because they are always working with incomplete information, @RISK’s ability to account for uncertainty – and do so in an intuitive way – is key.

At the same time deregulation has cranked up the speed of the utilities' business environment, it has also expanded the geographical reach of regional utilities like Cinergy. The company now buys and sells power on the wholesale markets in the eastern half of the United States. Decision times are always short, and the stakes are always high. Noting the ease of @RISK's interface and its immediate adaptability to almost any kind of business question, Soubhagya says, "I take @RISK everywhere I go in the company."