PENTICTON, BC - October 1, 2009 - ESRI Canada today presented an Award of Excellence to FortisBC for leveraging geographic information system (GIS) technology to improve asset management, enhance operational efficiency and support the utility's growth plans. The award was presented at the 2009 ESRI Regional User Conference in Penticton, British Columbia. "We are proud to have helped FortisBC establish a flexible, scalable and open platform that meets its dynamic needs now and in the future," said James Wickson, Vice President of Sales and Professional Services, ESRI Canada.

FortisBC is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Fortis Inc., Canada's largest investor-owned distribution utility. FortisBC owns and operates four hydroelectric-generating plants and approximately 7,000 kilometres of transmission and distribution power lines to serve 158,000 customers in southern British Columbia. To track and manage these assets, FortisBC needed an automated mapping, facilities management and geographic information system solution to capture, analyze and present data such as location, attributes and activities of all its facilities. In 2006, after a public bid process, FortisBC selected the ArcFM solution to replace its previous GIS system.

Developed by Telvent Miner & Miner and distributed by ESRI Canada, ArcFM is a complete, out-of-the-box enterprise GIS solution for facilities management specifically designed to meet the needs of utilities. It consists of a family of data models and a set of sophisticated tools to view, edit, map and manage facilities and spatial data. It is a powerful extension of ESRI ArcGIS, a platform for building a complete GIS that can be deployed on desktops, servers, mobile devices or over the Web. ArcFM is built on open architecture and easily integrates with other business applications. It also uses industry-standard software development tools, eliminating the need for costly and extensive programmer training.

Since completing its implementation of ArcFM in 2008, FortisBC expects to improve access to facilities and network model information, and enhance decision support, planning and reporting across the utility. The GIS has provided FortisBC with continued support for asset tracking and analysis, inspection and maintenance reporting, planning, engineering and design.

"It is an honour to be recognized as one of the GIS leaders in the utility industry using the ESRI system," said Doyle Sam, FortisBC Vice President of Engineering and Operations. "ESRI Canada's GIS solution will help us to continue to deliver safe and reliable electrical service to our customers."

For more information on ArcFM, visit: http://www.esricanada.com/products/arcfm.

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About FortisBC Inc.
FortisBC Inc. is an integrated regulated electric utility based in Kelowna, British Columbia. Focused on the safe delivery of reliable and cost-effective electricity, FortisBC serves approximately 158,000 customers directly and indirectly through wholesale utilities in the southern interior of B.C. FortisBC owns and operates four regulated hydroelectric generating plants and approximately 7,000 kilometres of transmission and distribution power lines. FortisBC employs over 500 people in British Columbia and is an indirect wholly owned subsidiary of Fortis Inc., the largest investor-owned distribution utility in Canada. Fortis Inc. shares are listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange and trade under the symbol FTS. Additional information can be accessed at http://www.fortisinc.com/ or http://www.sedar.com/.

About ESRI Canada
Founded in 1984, ESRI Canada provides enterprise geographic information system (GIS) solutions that empower businesses, governments, and educational institutions to make timely, informed and mission critical decisions by leveraging the power of geography. The company distributes the world's leading GIS software from ESRI, Telvent Miner & Miner, Azteca Systems, and other technology partners. Headquartered in Toronto, the company serves over 10,000 customers from 16 regional offices across Canada. Information about ESRI Canada can be found at http://www.esricanada.com/.

Media contact:
Joy Chan
PR Specialist
ESRI Canada
+1 (416) 386-6488
Email Contact
http://www.esricanada.com/