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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 2, 2006

Talking Points on Equity’s GE Relationship

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GE Lighting Systems (GELS) announced on 10/2/2006 that Whitehead & Associates would take over as their exclusive Agency in Georgia. Actually, the territory affected is the entire Southern Company (SoCo) footprint plus portions of eastern Tennessee. This means that Whitehead will replace Equinox Energy Systems in Georgia and Utilicor/USI elsewhere.

Some folks have been concerned about what this means to Equity. These “talking points” are designed to clarify Equity’s position with GE and explain how little this Agency change impacts their cooperative and municipal customers in Georgia.

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Equity and GE remain synonymous at Georgia’s electric cooperatives & municipal utilities.
 

• Equity continues to be GE Energy’s sole distributor covering Georgia.
• Sales of transformers, meters, etc. was never an issue.
• Equity also continues to be GELS’s sole distributor covering Georgia.
• Both GE and Whitehead have committed to continue Equity’s exclusive distributor position.
• Equity is one of GE’s largest, fastest growing and most loyal utility distributors in the US.

Equity’s lighting business has been and continues to grow. Lighting services offered to customers are expanding, not contracting.
 

• It will be “business as usual” for Equity’s lighting customers with absolutely no change in service, representation or product lines.
• Ron Ray continues his role as Lighting Systems Sales Manager.

Equity’s role with GE is not changing whatsoever; what has changed is the relationship between Equinox, a lighting agency, and GELS.
 

• Many have mistakenly assumed that Equity and Equinox are one in the same. However, Equinox has always been an entirely separate entity from Equity; the only common ground is a couple of shared employees (Ron Ray & Rob Parris) and the market served (lighting products sold to GA coops and cities). Equinox has two other full-time employees.
• Equinox, not Equity was solely responsible for selling GELS products to Georgia Power.
 

GELS has struggled to grow its business in Alabama and southern Mississippi and decided that assigning one Rep Agency throughout the SoCo territory would give them better odds of producing needed growth. Since Georgia was a “bright spot” for GELS they gave Equinox every opportunity to put an expansion plan together. It was later mutually agreed that Equinox was not the best fit for this new role and Equinox was willing to sacrifice the Georgia territory in order to allow GELS to grow elsewhere.

Equity was involved in hand-picking the new Agency and Whitehead & Associates was chosen.

Equinox will continue to represent Valmont, Valmont – Lexington, Valmont – Whatley, Hadco, Dynamic Lighting, Caroling High Mast, and CHM – Sports Lighting for all utilities in Georgia. They will also remain GELS’s exclusive Agency for the Georgia DOT market.

Again, no changes of any kind have occurred relating to any GE product lines or any other lighting products and services offered by Equity to its customers. It is “business as usual” for Equity…