ATLANTA _ Georgia Power received a nice Christmas gift this year when it won a 2003 Platts Global Energy Award for its FlatBill program. The award for “Marketing Campaign of the Year” was presented to Georgia Power at the Fifth Annual Platts Global Energy Awards ceremony in New York City.

Judges for the 2003 Global Energy Awards found Georgia Power’s FlatBill marketing campaign to have originality, effective use of media, a clear message and trackable results.

Georgia Power’s marketing team developed and used a targeted marketing campaign for the fixed bill pricing plan, and was able to meet customers’ requests for more options on how they purchase energy.

FlatBill was introduced statewide in 2002 as a result of customers’ requests to have a flat monthly amount on their bill. With FlatBill there are no surprises and the customer’s electric bill remains the same for an entire 12-month period. The flat amount is customized for each customer and takes into account the customer’s actual past electric usage and expected weather for the upcoming 12 months.

“Being recognized with this prestigious award tells us that the marketing team at Georgia Power successfully developed and introduced an innovative service to satisfy our customers,” said Bob Hughes, FlatBill product manager.

“The fixed bill plan is leading the industry, and the overwhelming customer acceptance for it shows the importance of giving customers an option in how they do business with us."

Since its inception, customer enrollment for FlatBill has been well above expectations. Statewide enrollment rates responding to the only marketing effort - a targeted direct mail campaign - averaged more than 12 percent, achieving 155 percent of the expected goal. In addition, customer satisfaction surveys show that 90 percent of enrolled customers indicate FlatBill either met or exceeded their expectations.

Currently, there are more than 100,000 Georgia Power customers enrolled in FlatBill.

Sponsored by Cap Gemini Ernst & Young, BusinessWeek and Kiewit Industrial Company, the Global Energy Awards have become the most prestigious awards program in the industry. Nearly 200 award nominations were sent in from energy companies around the world.

Georgia Power was among some of the best companies in the energy and utility industry that received awards in 16 categories including Best Energy Company of the Year, CEO of the Year and Power Company of the Year.