Reliant Energy Minnegasco Chooses
Pitney Bowes Software for Electronic
Bill Presentment and Payment

Danbury, Conn., June 13, 2002 -- Pitney Bowes Inc. (NYSE: PBI) will provide electronic bill presentment and payment (EBPP) solutions for Reliant Energy Minnegasco, a regulated company of Reliant Energy, Inc. (NYSE: REI).

EBPP enrollees from Reliant Energy Minnegasco's base of 700,000 residential, commercial and industrial customers will receive an e-mail notification when a bill may be reviewed online and will have the ability to view and pay bills where and when they want, 24 hours a day from anywhere in the world with an Internet connection.

Pitney Bowes docSense combines a holistic approach to the document process with leading edge technology from its Digital Document Delivery™ (D3) software and a professional services organization that customizes the solution to the needs of the client. The docSense solution provides a seamless link from Reliant Energy Minnegasco's website, where the enrollment process and customer relationship is managed, to the account management area where the billing information is presented to the customer.

"The billing document presents an opportunity for us to interact with our customers," said Andrea Newman, vice president of retail services, Reliant Energy Minnegasco. "The D3-enabled electronic bill provides us with an aesthetically inviting platform from which we can manage our customer relationships online."

"In addition to the convenience offered by EBPP to assist our customers at home, at work or while traveling; we can offer our customers a wide range of bill viewing and payment options that best fit their diverse needs," Ms. Newman added.

"Reliant Energy is visionary in providing value to their customers," said Karl Schumacher, president of Pitney Bowes docSense. "By selecting the docSense D3 platform, Reliant Energy Minnegasco can use the billing document as a strategic communication channel to inform customers of utility offerings and provide online Customer Service at a reduced cost with greater efficiency."

"Reliant Energy Minnesgasco clearly sees the value in a multi-channel approach to customer interaction through an integrated mail and message management platform," Schumacher added. "Companies today are increasingly seeking to integrate the various components of the messaging process to form a closed loop, continuous dialogue with their customers, helped by mail, e-mail, web presentment, call centers and other technologies."

Pitney Bowes docSense is a Premier Certified Partner of CheckFree (NASDAQ: CKFR), the leading electronic bill consolidation and payment service. Pitney Bowes offers Reliant Energy Minnegasco's customers access to about 475 financial services organizations in the CheckFree distribution and payment network. These sites include leading banks, brokerage firms, credit unions, Internet portals and personal financial management software providers.

Headquartered in Minneapolis, Reliant Energy Minnegasco is Minnesota's largest natural gas distribution company, serving approximately 700,000 residential, commercial and industrial customers in over 240 communities. The company also provides non-regulated services through its Minnegasco (R) Home Service Plus (R) business, offering a broad range of home services including: heating, cooling and appliance repair and maintenance service plans; locally monitored home security systems; sales of heating and air conditioning equipment; and other home comfort products. Minnegasco is a division of Houston-based Reliant Energy Incorporated, an international energy services and energy delivery company with approximately $46 billion in annual revenue and total assets exceeding $29 billion.

Pitney Bowes Inc. is a $4.1 billion global provider of integrated mail, messaging and document management solutions headquartered in Stamford, Connecticut. Pitney Bowes docSense is the company's global provider of premier solutions for the creation and distribution of efficient and effective documents in paper and digital form.

Media Contact:
Scott Gerschwer
Manager, Media Relations
203-739-3163
Scott.Gerschwer@pb.com

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