Business Editors

    STAMFORD, Conn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 27, 1999--

    Customers Get Easy to Use, Convenient Billing and Payment Options
    That Save Them Time and Money

    Pitney Bowes Inc. (NYSE: PBI), the global leader in mail and messaging management, announced the successful implementation of a landmark customer billing solution for The United Illuminating (UI) Company (NYSE: UIL), a leading Connecticut utility.

Pitney Bowes utilized its expertise in software, hardware, mail management and systems integration to further enhance its Document Factory Solution (DFS) for UI's end-to-end billing process. Pitney Bowes has provided UI with a DFS including bill formatting, printing, finishing, and mail services since 1997. With the addition of Pitney Bowes' innovative Digital Document Delivery (D3) System, UI customers can now choose how they would like to receive and pay their bills -- via the Internet or postal mail.

Marc Breslawsky, President and Chief Operating Officer of Pitney Bowes, said, "Successful business solutions help customers integrate new technologies into their operations. We have the technology, the process knowledge and the expertise to create and manage a comprehensive end-to-end solution. The DFS we are implementing for UI is an example of how Pitney Bowes is helping businesses manage messaging to effectively reach their customers while improving operational efficiency."

The Pitney Bowes DFS receives UI customer billing information, transmitted electronically from UI, and feeds it into a data center for transformation into a complete bill statement. For customers who choose to receive paper bills, the bill statements are processed through a fully automated bill printing, folding, sorting, inserting and posting process to achieve maximum postal discounts and successful mail delivery using address correction software.

For customers who have chosen Internet delivery, the bill statements are posted to a secure Web server managed by Pitney Bowes. An E-mail message is sent simultaneously to customers announcing that the bill is available for review. UI customers can access their bill on the Internet, review it for accuracy and authorize electronic payment. Each bill contains hotlinks to consumer and marketing information that is tailored to the interests of account holders, as well as a link to the UI Web site for additional information from the utility. The D3 System also allows UI customers to pay their bills automatically using direct debit.

John J. Prete, General Manager, Client Fulfillment for UI, added, "Billing is obviously an integral part of our operations and with the help of Pitney Bowes, we have an improved billing system that has direct benefits and new choices for our customers. With this system, we will simplify and accelerate billing, optimize mail operations and improve service by offering our customers customized billing with a variety of payment options."

D3 enables high-volume mailers to use their existing legacy billing and statement applications to format documents for delivery via the Internet, E-mail, facsimile or postal mail. D3 is one component of Pitney Bowes' Document Factory Solution, a comprehensive suite of hardware and software products, professional services and financing options to help customers create, manage, manufacture, distribute, and remit documents in hard copy or digital format.

About the United Illuminating Company

UI is a New Haven, CT-based utility that provides electricity and energy-related services to more than 313,000 customers in 17 municipalities in the Greater New Haven and Greater Bridgeport areas. UI's World Wide Web address is http://www.uinet.com.

About Pitney Bowes

Pitney Bowes Management Services specializes in helping businesses find opportunities to increase efficiency and decrease costs by outsourcing document and messaging management. PBMS is a leader in improving end-to-end work flow processes in critical information functions such as mail operations, networked fax and copier output, imaging and electronic document retrieval.

Pitney Bowes Production Mail and Document Factory Solutions Division serves the high volume mailer (over 50,000 mail pieces per month), providing automated high speed mail finishing hardware and software to Fortune 1000 companies and government agencies.

Pitney Bowes Inc. is a $4.2 billion global provider of informed mail and messaging management. For more information about the company, please visit our Web site at: http://www.pitneybowes.com.

     --30--et/ny*

     CONTACT: Pitney Bowes Inc. 
              Sheryl Y. Battles, 203/351-6808
               or
              United Illuminating Company
              Fran Mayko, 203/499-2817

     KEYWORD: CONNECTICUT
     INDUSTRY KEYWORD: COMPUTERS/ELECTRONICS COMED
INTERACTIVE/MULTIMEDIA/INTERNET