New Energy Ventures Streamlines Its Name and UnveilsDistinctive New Identity to Convey Its...

LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--July 19, 1999--

New Energy Ventures, Inc. has become America's largest energy service provider by rapidly evolving to meet the expanding and changing needs of customers. In that spirit, the company today introduced a streamlined name and a new corporate identity

New Energy Ventures, Inc. is becoming NewEnergy, Inc.

The company unveiled a new corporate identity program, centered around a distinctive new logo designed by the award-winning San Francisco design shop Cahan & Associates.

The new logo, an array of eccentric circles that coalesce into an ordered structure "symbolizes NewEnergy's promise to customers that it will bring order out of chaos in the competitive electric marketplace," stated Michael R. Peevey, President and Chief Executive Officer of NewEnergy.

"Our new logo communicates that we help customers seize the opportunities inherent in a competitive market and respond to customer needs with tailored product and service offerings."

"NewEnergy is very different from `old energy' companies, and our previous corporate identity didn't effectively differentiate us from the blur of energy service providers in the marketplace," continued Peevey. "I am pleased that from this day forward, we have the most distinctive brand in the marketplace.

"Our identity also reflects our pledge to drive change in the industry itself, working with lawmakers and regulators to help shape competition in every major emerging market in the United States. We look forward to continuing the work of bringing choice to all consumers in the United States," Peevey said.

"Our recent announcement that we are joining the family of AES Corp. -- another hugely successful leader in the electricity marketplace -- underscores our core commitment to delivering value to the customer."

Along with the new logo, NewEnergy created a new naming structure that better unifies its subsidiaries and regional offices by incorporating the new corporate name. For example, NEV East, which serves NewEnergy customers in the Northeast and New England states, becomes NewEnergy East. NEV Technologies, the company's subsidiary that provides site generation technologies to customers, becomes NewEnergy Technologies.

"We've succeeded in no small part because we've been so different from our competitors in philosophy and style," concluded Peevey. "This new branding effort builds on that tradition, and I have little doubt that NewEnergy will look very different from the `old energy' companies as we continue to expand into new markets around the country."

Cahan & Associates, a design firm that prides itself in creating strong brands, has received hundreds of national awards for its work.

The 16-person firm has designed such diverse projects as the retail catalog for Pottery Barn Kids, a new division of the furnishings retailer, and the packaging for Apollo beer, launched in blue bottles in 1996. It received national media attention for the annual report it designed for Adaptec, a computer industry company, which disguises mundane financial information as a children's book.

"Of all the companies we have worked with, NewEnergy stands apart for its willingness to break the old rules and think beyond conventional wisdom," said Bill Cahan, who heads the design firm. "Within our own fields, we think the same way. I believe the identity system we have created for NewEnergy captures their industry leadership and innovative spirit very well."

NewEnergy Inc. has announced an agreement to be acquired by AES Corp. and it will retain its identity as a separate company within the AES structure. The planned transaction requires approval of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), and also requires clearance under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Anti-Trust Act. Both are expected to be obtained within 30 to 60 days.

AES is a leading global power company that currently owns or has an interest in 104 power facilities totaling more than 31,000 megawatts in the United States, Canada, Australia, Argentina, Brazil, the Dominican Republic, Panama, Mexico, Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, the Netherlands, Hungary, Kazakhstan, China and the United Kingdom.

AES also distributes electricity to nearly 14 million customers. In addition to having assets in excess of $10 billion, the company has more than $5 billion of projects in construction or late stages of development. AES is dedicated to providing electricity worldwide in a socially responsible way.

NewEnergy is America's largest energy service provider. Formed in 1995 to serve customers in every state where a competitive energy market is emerging, this rapidly growing technology-based energy company is active today throughout the Northeast, Midwest, Mid-Atlantic, Southwest and Western regions in the United States.

Its services include energy buying for its customers, energy efficiency services, site generation, and low-cost supply of energy-related equipment and supplies. With headquarters in Los Angeles, it has regional offices in Austin, Boston, Chicago, New York, Philadelphia, Phoenix, Tucson, and the San Francisco Bay area.