For Immediate Release
June 6, 2003

Pepco is taking advantage of new technology that enables customers to avoid irksome hold times when calling the utility's call center to speak with a customer service representative. Instead, customers can request a return call from an automated menu without losing their place in line.

"We're working to improve the customer experience and at the same time improve our call center performance through reduced hold times, fewer abandoned calls and improved employee performance," said Michael J. Sullivan, Pepco Vice President of Customer Care.

The technology is called "virtual hold" and offers the choice of either waiting for the first available customer representative or choosing to get a call back within the customer's anticipated wait time. The number for the business office is 202-833-7500.

Two years ago Pepco installed a high-volume, automated answering system that virtually eliminated busy signals when calling to report a power outage (1-877-PEPCO-62). "Now we're taking it a step further with business calls, so that during periods of high demand, customers wanting to speak with a customer service rep won't have to put up with lengthy hold times," Sullivan said.

When a customer calls Pepco and the wait time is expected to exceed two minutes, the call system announces the estimated wait time and offers the caller an option to receive a return call, instead of waiting on hold. When the caller selects a return call, "virtual hold" prompts the caller for a call-back telephone number and asks to record their name. The caller is then given a call-back time and disconnected. The system keeps the caller's place in the queue, calls them back shortly before their turn to speak with a service representative and then transfers the caller to the first available representative.

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Pepco, a wholly owned subsidiary of Pepco Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:POM), provides electricity transmission and distribution services to more than 700,000 customers in the District of Columbia and major portions of Prince George`s and Montgomery County in Maryland.

Point of Contact:
Robert Dobkin