EDB to operate e-business for Hafslund

(Oslo, 20 September 2004) Norwegian power utility Hafslund ASA is to transfer all management of billing and meter reading cards to EDB Business Partner ASA under an agreement worth NOK 23 million over three years. The contract covers paper-based bill generation, OCR reading of meter cards, e-billing functionality, electronic archiving and invoice hotel-services.

Through this agreement, Hafslund has selected EDB as its strategic partner for both paper-based and electronic services. EDB already delivers e-billing services to Hafslund, which is Norway's largest electricity supplier and has some 600 000 customers in its database. Generation of paper bills and coordination of meter reading forms with bills will now also be provided by EDB, along with an electronic archive for the client. The agreement includes an option for a two-year extension beyond the initial three years, and the specified services will be delivered to Hafslund by the EDB IT Operations arm.
 
"Together with price, EDB's ability to handle large volumes, its high level of expertise and user-friendliness were crucial for our choice," says contacts manager Sølvi Glevoll at Hafslund.
 
"The agreement with Hafslund is one of the largest in this area, and very important for us," says John-Arne Haugerud, executive vice president for IT Operations at EDB. "It demonstrates once again that a growing number of customers are seeing the value of choosing our turnkey concept for e-business."
 
 
For further information:
 
Reidar Gjærum, Executive Vice President, Corporate Communications, tel: +47 908 55 101

EDB Business Partner is one of the leading suppliers of IT operations and software in the Nordic region. The company provides industry-leading total solutions in the areas of banking and finance, telecommunications and IT operations. EDB's objective is to contribute to its customers' value creation by offering productivity-enhancing IT solutions combined with flexible and reliable operating solutions with unique economies of scale. EDB Business Partner has some 2,500 employees and reported turnover of NOK 4.3 billion in 2003. EDB is represented in Norway, Sweden, the USA, England, Spain and Switzerland. EDB Business Partner ASA is listed on Oslo Børs with the ticker code EDBASA.