Thursday, March 24, 2005

Bean To Open Call Center In Bangor

BANGOR, Maine -- Outdoors outfitter L.L. Bean plans to open its newest call center in Bangor.
Bean and city officials announced Thursday that the facility is expected to open in late summer and employ between 600 and 800 seasonal workers. Starting in January, the year-round work force is expected to total about 100, a figure that Bean said could increase over time.
The facility, to be located in the former Irving Oil building near the entrance to Bangor International Airport, will be Bean's fourth year-round call center. The others are in Portland, Lewiston and Waterville.
CEO Chris McCormick said his Freeport-based company reviewed various labor markets in Maine and determined that Bangor had the capacity to meet its hiring needs. Bean plans to begin hiring in June or July and says the jobs will offer hourly wages starting at $8.85.

Ball Aerospace Completes OMPS Focal Plane Arrays

BOULDER, Colo., March 24 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- The most technicallychallenging portion of the Ozone Mapping and Profiler Suite (OMPS) -- thefocal planes -- are now complete. Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp. hascompleted environmental and performance testing on three focal planes for thefirst OMPS flight unit, also know as the Proto-Flight Model (PFM). The OMPS PFM Nadir and Limb sensors and main electronics boxes are alsonearing completion of the integration phase and will be entering test. OMPS is one of more than a dozen instruments that will fly as part of theNational Polar-orbiting Operational Environmental Satellite System (NPOESS) --a program designed to provide the nation with the capability to measureatmospheric, land and ocean environmental conditions on a global basis. BallAerospace is part of the Northrop Grumman Space Technology NPOESS team.Northrop Grumman is the NPOESS prime contractor and has overall responsibilityfor the program development effort. OMPS is designed to replace the Solar Backscatter Ultraviolet Radiometer 2(SBUV/2), a Ball-built ozone monitor flown on NOAA weather satellites andproviding uninterrupted global measurements of ozone concentration in theEarth's stratosphere for more than 12 years. OMPS will provide parallelfunctionality to both SBUV/2 and NASA's Total Ozone Mapping Spectrometer(TOMS), with new and improved environmental data records. "OMPS represents continuing excellence of Ball Aerospace ozone monitoringsensors demonstrated by SBUV/2 and SAGE III," said Mike Cerneck, VicePresident and General Manager of Ball Aerospace Defense Operations. Ball Corporation (NYSE: BLL) is a supplier of high-quality metal andplastic packaging products to the beverage and food industries. The companyalso owns Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp., which develops sensors,spacecraft, systems and components for government and commercial markets.Ball employs more than 14,000 people worldwide and reported 2004 sales of$5.4 billion. The company is celebrating its 125th year in 2005. Forward-Looking Statements The information in this news release contains "forward-looking" statementsand other statements concerning future events and financial performance.Words such as "expects," "anticipates," "estimates," and variations of sameand similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements.Forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties which couldcause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied.The company undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events orotherwise. Key risks and uncertainties are summarized in the company'sfilings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, especially inExhibit 99.2 in the most recent Form 10-K. These filings are available at ourWeb site and at http://www.sec.gov. Factors that might affect our packaging segmentsinclude fluctuation in consumer and customer demand; availability and cost ofraw materials, particularly resin, steel, aluminum and energy, and the abilityto pass on to customers changes in these costs; competitive packaging materialavailability, pricing and substitution; changes in climate and weather; fruit,vegetable and fishing yields; industry productive capacity and competitiveactivity; lack of productivity improvement or production cost reductions; theGerman mandatory deposit or other restrictive packaging laws; changes in majorcustomer contracts or loss of a major customer; international business risks,including foreign exchange rates, tax rates and activities of foreignsubsidiaries; and the effect of LIFO accounting on earnings. Factors thatmight affect aerospace segment include: funding, authorization andavailability of government contracts and the nature and continuation of thosecontracts; and technical uncertainty associated with segment contracts.Factors that could affect the company as a whole include those listed plus:acquisitions, joint ventures or divestitures and associated integrationactivities; regulatory action or laws including environmental and workplacesafety; governmental investigations; goodwill impairment; antitrust and otherlitigation; strikes; boycotts; increases in employee benefits and labor costs;rates of return projected and earned on assets of the company's definedbenefit retirement plans; reduced cash flow; interest rates affecting ourdebt; and changes to unaudited results due to statutory audits of ourfinancial statements or internal controls over financial reporting.

Credence SystemsCorporation

MILPITAS, Calif., March 24 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Credence SystemsCorporation (Nasdaq: CMOS), a leading provider of test solutions from designto production for the worldwide semiconductor industry, today announced thatTestEdge Corporation has selected the ASL 3000RF(TM) for advanced RF on-wafermeasurement characterization. The ASL 3000RF provides TestEdge with a cost-effective solution for both package testing and wafer sort of RF devices. Increasingly, system-in-package (SiP) devices are becoming more prevalentin the wireless semiconductor market. The integration of filters, switches,and other high performance RF die requires extremely accurate characterizationthat is only possible with S-Parameter measurement techniques. The ASL 3000RFprovides the perfect solution for making on-wafer S-Parameters with itsMVNA(TM) measurement system. A full suite of calibration and characterization tools is available on theASL 3000RF to perform vector calibration directly to the probe/waferinterface. This allows for extremely accurate measurement of transmission andreflection parameters of the device. Additionally, Credence provides acomplete turnkey solution to dock to many commonly available wafer probers.Solutions can be deployed quickly and easily to meet rapid product cycles. "Both Credence and TestEdge are committed to providing a practicalsolution to RF probe on the ASL 3000RF," said Craig Bousquet, president ofTestEdge. "Our team has been working closely with Credence for over sevenyears and recognize the company for having excellent applications and fieldservice support in addition to their innovative products and technologies." "As integration increases, wafer-level RF probing is becoming more of anecessity," said Dave Ranhoff, president and chief executive officer ofCredence Systems Corporation. "We anticipate the need for RF probe will growrapidly in the next two years as the demand for known-good-die used in SiPdevices expands. We are pleased that TestEdge has chosen the ASL 3000RF toprovide their customers with RF probe capability. Additionally, the systemwill enable TestEdge to deliver local engineering and production support forwireless companies in the San Diego area, a technology center for ongoingdevelopment of wireless technologies." About TestEdge TestEdge is an employee owned company that was created in 2002 by theformer employees of Cadence Design Systems' test services department. Themajority of the employees worked together at Burroughs, Unisys and Cadence.Based in San Diego, TestEdge focuses on delivering high quality test, fixture,and package engineering services. TestEdge delivers experienced IC test engineering services to a widevariety of customers, including consumer electronics firms, telecommunicationcompanies, the automotive industry, and the US government. We offer completetest solutions for digital, analog, mixed-signal, and RF devices. Moreinformation is available at http://www.testedgeinc.com. About Credence Credence Systems Corporation is the industry's leading provider of design-to-test solutions for the global semiconductor industry. With a commitment toapplying innovative technology to lower the cost-of-test, Credence deliverscompetitive cost and performance advantages to integrated device manufacturers(IDMs), wafer foundries, outsource assembly and test (OSAT) suppliers andfabless chip companies worldwide. A global, ISO 9001-certified company with apresence in 20 countries, Credence is headquartered in Milpitas, California.More information is available at http://www.credence.com. Credence is a registered trademark, and Credence Systems, ASL 3000RF, MVNAare trademarks of Credence Systems Corporation. Other trademarks that may bementioned in this release are the intellectual property of their respectiveowners.

Thursday, March 03, 2005

Progress Restated

Progress Energy Announces Fourth Quarter and Year-end Results
Thursday March 3, 7:00 am ET


- Highlights:

- Reports 2004 ongoing earnings of $3.06 per share, GAAP earnings of $3.13 per share

- Reports fourth quarter ongoing earnings of $0.62 per share, GAAP earnings of $0.80 per share

- Sets 2005 ongoing earnings guidance of $2.90 to $3.20 per share

- Main 2005 earnings drivers include favorable customer growth and usage and increased synthetic fuel sales, offset by decreased earnings from divested assets and higher O&M costs

RALEIGH, N.C., March 3 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Progress Energy (NYSE: PGN - News) today reported ongoing earnings of $741 million, or $3.06 per share, for 2004 compared with ongoing earnings of $844 million, or $3.56 per share, for 2003. Reported consolidated net income under generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) was $759 million, or $3.13 per share, for 2004 compared with reported consolidated net income of $782 million, or $3.30 per share, for 2003. See the table on the following page for a reconciliation of ongoing earnings per share to GAAP earnings per share.

(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20020923/CHM008LOGO-c )

"Our core businesses had a strong year. Operational excellence, revenue growth and cost-management initiatives ensured our core businesses all performed well - despite enduring four hurricanes that struck our service territory," said Bob McGehee, chairman and CEO. "The only downside to the year was our synthetic fuel business, which was under budget due to the impacts of the hurricanes on our taxable income.

"We ended the year in the upper range of our revised earnings guidance, and I am especially proud of how well our company performed in 2004," said McGehee.

Ongoing earnings per share were negatively impacted by a decrease in synthetic fuel sales as a result of hurricane costs that reduced the company's projected 2004 regular tax liability, lower wholesale sales in the Carolinas, an increase in O&M expenses in the Carolinas primarily due to storm restoration efforts and nuclear outages, reduced Competitive Commercial Operations earnings due primarily to higher fixed costs, increased utility depreciation and amortization and dilution from 2004 common stock issuance. Significant positive earnings drivers for the year were utility customer growth and usage, the additional return on the investment in the Hines 2 plant in Florida, favorable weather in the Carolinas, increased Progress Rail earnings and lower retail revenue sharing in Florida.

The following table provides a reconciliation of ongoing earnings per share to reported GAAP earnings per share. A detailed discussion is provided later in this release under the caption "Ongoing Earnings Adjustments."

Progress Energy, Inc.
Reconciliation of Ongoing Earnings per Share to Reported
GAAP Earnings per Share
Dec. 31, 2004

As Restated
Q4 2004 Q4 2003* 2004 2003
Ongoing earnings per share $0.62 $0.76 $3.06 $3.56
Intraperiod tax allocation 0.02 (0.18) -- --
CVO mark-to-market 0.01 (0.02) 0.04 (0.04)
NCNG discontinued operations 0.02 (0.01) 0.02 (0.03)
Cumulative effect of
accounting changes -- (0.09) -- (0.09)
Impairments and one-time charges -- (0.10) -- (0.10)
SRS litigation settlement -- -- (0.12) --
Gain on sale of gas assets 0.13 -- 0.13 --
Reported GAAP earnings per share $0.80 $0.36 $3.13 $3.30

Average shares
outstanding (millions) 243 240 242 237

* Beginning in the fourth quarter of 2003, Progress Energy ceased recording portions of Progress Fuels' segment operations, primarily synthetic fuel facilities, one month in arrears. Progress Energy has restated previously reported consolidated quarterly earnings to reflect the new reporting periods. The change in Progress Energy's fourth quarter 2003 net income was a decrease of $14 million and the change for 2003 was an increase of $2 million. The reported fourth quarter 2003 and year-end 2003 earnings for Progress Ventures and Progress Fuels included in this release reflect this restatement. See additional information on this restatement in the Supplemental Data schedules of this release.

2005 EARNINGS GUIDANCE

Progress Energy expects to generate earnings of $710 million to $780 million in 2005 and is targeting an earnings range of $2.90 to $3.20 per share. Of this, the company expects the core businesses - the two utilities and Progress Ventures, excluding synthetic fuels - to generate earnings of $2.50 to $2.60 per share and the synthetic fuels business to generate earnings of $0.40 to $0.60 per share.

The earnings from the regulated utilities and Progress Ventures, excluding synthetic fuels, are projected to be favorable year-over-year primarily due to the following drivers: customer growth and usage, lower depreciation and amortization at the utilities, and lower interest expense at Progress Ventures. These drivers will be partially offset by higher O&M costs, lower natural gas production and lower margins from nonregulated generation.

Earnings from synthetic fuels are projected to be favorable year-over- year, primarily due to a return to more normal production levels. The company expects lower earnings from other diversified businesses associated with the announced sale of Progress Rail in the first quarter 2005. Also, dilution from common stock issuance will negatively impact earnings by approximately $0.04 per share.

SIGNIFICANT DEVELOPMENTS

Progress Energy Announces Sale of Rail Services Subsidiary

On Feb. 18, 2005, Progress Energy signed a definitive agreement to sell its subsidiary, Progress Rail Services Corp. (Progress Rail), to subsidiaries of One Equity Partners LLC, a private equity unit of J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. The sale price will be $405 million, and the transaction is expected to close within 90 days. Proceeds from the sale will be used to reduce debt. As a result of this transaction, the company anticipates that earnings will be negatively impacted by approximately 19 cents per share in 2005 and approximately 12 cents per share in subsequent years. The complete press release regarding this announcement is available on the company's Web site at: http://www.progress-energy.com/aboutus/news/article.asp?id=11262 .

Moody's Lowers Progress Energy Florida's Credit Rating; Reaffirms Outlook for Progress Energy and Progress Energy Carolinas

On Feb. 11, 2005, Moody's Investors Service (Moody's) credit rating agency announced that it lowered the ratings of Progress Energy Florida (senior unsecured to A3 from A2), Progress Capital Holdings and FPC Capital Trust I and changed their rating outlooks to stable from negative. Moody's affirmed the ratings of Progress Energy and Progress Energy Carolinas. The rating outlooks continue to be stable at Progress Energy Carolinas and negative at Progress Energy. Moody's stated that it took this action primarily due to declining credit metrics, higher O&M costs, uncertainty regarding the timing of hurricane cost recovery, regulatory risks associated with the upcoming rate case in Florida and ongoing capital requirements to meet Florida's growing demand.

Crystal River Nuclear Plant Sets New Generation Record

On Jan. 27, 2005, Progress Energy announced that Progress Energy Florida's Crystal River Nuclear Plant set a new record for electric generation for the fourth straight year. During 2004, the plant generated over 7.303 billion kWh, enough to supply the annual electric needs of over 425,000 typical Florida homes. The previous high generation was in 2002, when the plant generated 7.300 billion kWh. In addition to establishing a new plant record for generation, the plant also set a new record for radiation protection of workers, with the lowest total exposure to radiation ever in the history of the plant, and one of the three lowest ever for a U.S. commercial nuclear power plant. The complete press release regarding this announcement is available on the company's Web site at: http://www.progress-energy.com/aboutus/news/article.asp?id=11122 .

Progress Energy Announces the Departure of Tom Kilgore, Group President of Progress Ventures

On Jan. 25, 2005, Progress Energy announced that Tom Kilgore, group president of Progress Ventures, will be leaving the company Feb. 28, 2005, to become president and chief operating officer of the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA), the country's largest public power company. Bob McGehee announced that the Progress Ventures organization will report to Don Davis, executive vice president of Diversified Operations beginning March 1.

Progress Energy Carolinas Sets New Peak

On Jan. 24, 2005, Progress Energy Carolinas set a new record with 12,011 MWh peak demand, eclipsing the old record of 11,977 MWh set on July 30, 2002. The previous winter peak had been 11,629 MWh set on Jan. 24, 2003. The complete press release regarding this announcement is available on the company's Web site at: http://www.progress-energy.com/aboutus/news/article.asp?id=11103 .

Progress Energy Florida Storm Costs Recovery

As of Dec. 31, 2004, restoration of Progress Energy Florida's system from hurricane-related damage was estimated at $385 million (up from the original $366 million estimate). Hearings on Progress Energy Florida's petition for recovery of $252 million filed with the Florida Public Service Commission (FPSC) are scheduled to begin on March 30, 2005.

Progress Energy Announces Early Retirement Program and Streamlined Organization Structure

On Dec. 8, 2004, Progress Energy's board of directors approved an early- retirement program to be offered to its employees in early 2005. Bob McGehee also named a new streamlined leadership team that includes 12 fewer senior management positions, an 18 percent reduction. These announcements are the first major milestones in the company's cost-management initiative announced on Oct. 12, 2004. The complete press release regarding this announcement is available on the company's Web site at: http://www.progress-energy.com/aboutus/news/article.asp?id=10863 .

Progress Energy Increases Dividend for 17th Straight Year

On Dec. 8, 2004, Progress Energy's board of directors voted to increase the dividend on the company's common stock. Progress Energy has increased the dividend for 17 straight years. The increase represents a total annual dividend of $2.36 per share, an increase of $0.06 over the 2004 dividend. The complete press release regarding this announcement is available on the company's Web site at: http://www.progress-energy.com/aboutus/news/article.asp?id=10862 .

Progress Energy Sells Portion of Natural Gas Assets

On Nov. 23, 2004, Progress Fuels Corp., a wholly owned subsidiary of Progress Energy, announced that it entered into an agreement to sell certain oil and gas interests and related assets in the Fort Worth basin of Texas for a sale price of $255 million in cash. The sale was completed on Dec. 17, 2004, and proceeds were used to reduce debt. The complete press release regarding this announcement is available on the company's Web site at: http://www.progress-energy.com/aboutus/news/article.asp?id=10823 .

Standard & Poor's Lowers Short-Term Debt Ratings

On Oct. 25, 2004, Standard & Poor's (S&P) credit rating agency announced that it lowered the short-term debt ratings to A-3 from A-2 of Progress Energy, Progress Energy Carolinas and Progress Energy Florida. S&P stated that it took this action as a result of its outlook revision announced in Oct.

LINE OF BUSINESS FINANCIAL INFORMATION

Progress Energy Carolinas

Progress Energy Carolinas electric energy operations contributed GAAP net income of $464 million for the year compared with $492 million for 2003. This year's earnings were negatively affected by lower wholesale sales to other utilities resulting from decreased off-system sales and margins and higher O&M costs primarily due to storm restoration efforts and an increase in the number and scope of nuclear plant outages. Additionally, O&M results in the prior year included a favorable retroactive reallocation of service company costs of $10 million after tax. These factors were partially offset by increased revenues from customer growth and usage from the addition of approximately 26,000 new customers and favorable weather. Additionally, results in the prior year included a one-time cumulative effect of accounting change, an impairment primarily related to its Affordable Housing portfolio and losses on limited partnership investment funds.

Progress Energy Carolinas incurred $18 million pre-tax of O&M storm costs in 2004, but did not seek deferral of these costs from the North Carolina Utilities Commission. During the fourth quarter 2003, $24 million pre-tax of O&M storm costs were deferred.

During 2004, Progress Energy Carolinas filed two depreciation studies with the North Carolina and South Carolina commissions that allowed the utility to reduce the rates used to calculate depreciation expense. The reduction in depreciation expense of $82 million pre-tax is primarily attributable to extended lives at each nuclear unit. In addition, the company recorded $174 million pre-tax of Clean Air amortization recorded this year compared to $74 million pre-tax recorded in 2003.

In 2003, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) issued accounting guidance that required certain contracts to be recorded at their fair value. Progress Energy Carolinas had one contract that met the criteria of this new guidance and as such recorded a negative fair value adjustment of $23 million after-tax in the fourth quarter 2003. This adjustment was reported as a cumulative effect of accounting change.

Also during the fourth quarter 2003, Progress Energy recorded a total impairment of $13 million after-tax primarily related to its Affordable Housing portfolio, of which $7 million was recorded in Progress Energy Carolinas results and $6 million was recorded in Other Business results.

See the attached Supplemental Data schedules for additional information on Progress Energy Carolinas electric revenues, energy sales, energy supply, weather impacts and the retroactive service company reallocation in 2003.

Progress Energy Florida

Progress Energy Florida electric energy operations contributed GAAP net income of $333 million for the year compared with $295 million for 2003. This year's earnings were positively affected by the additional return on the investment in the Hines 2 plant that was placed into service in Dec. 2003, lower O&M costs primarily due to a decrease in pension expense, lower retail revenue sharing, customer growth from the addition of approximately 37,000 new customers and higher wholesale sales to other utilities. These factors were partially offset by higher interest costs, increased depreciation and amortization, lower revenues as a result of hurricane-related customer outages and unfavorable weather. In 2003, interest costs were favorably impacted by the reversal of interest expense accrued for resolved tax matters.

In 2004, Progress Energy Florida recorded a $9 million pre-tax accrual for 2004 revenue sharing and an additional $2 million pre-tax true-up for the finalization of 2003 revenue sharing. In 2003, Progress Energy Florida recorded a $17 million pre-tax accrual for 2003 revenue sharing and provided an additional refund of $18 million pre-tax related to 2002 revenue sharing.

See the attached Supplemental Data schedules for additional information on Progress Energy Florida electric revenues, energy sales, energy supply and weather impacts and the retroactive service company reallocation in 2003.

Progress Ventures

The Progress Ventures operations consist of Progress Fuels, which includes natural gas production, coal mining, coal terminal services, synthetic fuels production and fuels transportation and delivery, and Competitive Commercial Operations, which includes nonregulated generation and energy marketing activities. The Progress Ventures business unit had GAAP net income of $176 million for the year compared with $255 million for 2003.

Progress Fuels generated GAAP net income of $180 million for the year compared with $235 million for 2003. The decrease was primarily due to lower synthetic fuel sales. These results were partially offset by a $31 million after-tax gain on the sale of certain natural gas assets in 2004, increased gas prices and volumes and increased coal margins. Results in the prior year were negatively impacted by an asset impairment during the fourth quarter 2003 of $11 million after-tax at the Kentucky May Coal Company and the retroactive reallocation of service company costs of $4 million after-tax. Within Progress Fuels, synthetic fuels operations generated GAAP net income of $91 million for the year compared with $205 million for 2003. The decrease in earnings resulted primarily from lower synthetic fuel sales and an increase in operating expenses in 2004. The impact of storm costs from Hurricanes Charley, Frances, Ivan and Jeanne substantially reduced the company's projected 2004 tax liability. The reduction in income tax liability led to a decrease in synthetic fuel production because of the company's diminished ability to recognize corresponding Section 29 tax credits. In addition, earnings in the prior year include a $13 million favorable tax credit true-up related to 2002. Total synthetic fuel sales were 8.3 million tons for the year compared with 12.4 million tons for 2003.

At Sept. 30, 2004, the company had anticipated an ability to use tax credits associated with approximately 5 million tons of synthetic fuel production based on its projected regular tax liability for 2004. This estimate was based upon a projected casualty loss as a result of the Florida storms. Therefore, the company recorded a charge in the third quarter of $79 million for tax credits associated with approximately 2.7 million tons sold during the year that will not be used.

Based on a reasonable expectation at year-end that Progress Energy Florida will be granted the requested recovery of its storm costs, the casualty loss is less than originally estimated. As of Dec. 31, 2004, the company anticipates an ability to use tax credits associated with approximately 8 million tons of synthetic fuel production based on the company's latest regular tax liability projection for 2004. Therefore, the company recorded $90 million in the fourth quarter 2004 for tax credits associated with approximately 3 million tons sold during the year that can be used. As of Dec. 31, 2004, the company estimates approximately $7 million of tax credits associated with approximately 0.2 million tons sold during the year could not be used.

Competitive Commercial Operations contributed a GAAP net loss of $4 million for the year compared with GAAP net income of $20 million for 2003. The decrease was due to losses of $9 million after-tax associated with the early redemption of a $241 million financing facility, higher fixed charges on plants placed into service in 2003 and interest no longer capitalized due to the completion of plant construction in 2003. Also, results in 2003 include a contract termination payment received on a tolling agreement. These factors were partially offset by increased margins from serving new and existing contracts and an increase in power sales in the spot market driven by favorable weather and the addition of new plants. Results in the prior year were negatively impacted by the retroactive reallocation of service company costs of $2 million after-tax.

Details on the retroactive service company reallocation recorded in the prior year are included in the Supplemental Data schedules of this release.

Other Businesses

Other businesses include Progress Rail, Progress Telecom and other small subsidiaries. Other businesses had a GAAP net loss of $22 million for the year compared with a GAAP net loss of $24 million for 2003. This year's results were negatively impacted by a $29 million after-tax charge recorded by SRS related to a civil litigation settlement. This item was partially offset by strong sales in the recycling operations at Progress Rail. During the fourth quarter 2003, Progress Energy recorded a total impairment of $13 million after-tax primarily related to its Affordable Housing portfolio, of which $6 million was recorded in Other Business results and $7 million was recorded in Progress Energy Carolinas results.

     Progress Rail
Progress Rail had GAAP net income of $16 million for the year compared
with a GAAP net loss of $1 million for 2003. The increase was primarily
due to higher volumes and prices in recycling operations and in part to
increased production and sales in locomotive and railcar services and
engineering and track services. In addition, results in the prior year
were negatively impacted by the retroactive reallocation of service
company costs of $3 million after-tax. Details on the retroactive service
company reallocation recorded in the prior year are included in the
Supplemental Data schedules of this release.

Progress Telecom
Progress Telecom recorded a GAAP net loss of $5 million for the year
compared with GAAP net income of $2 million for 2003. The decrease
resulted primarily from higher depreciation expense and professional fees
as a result of the merger with EPIK Communications. Results in the prior
year were favorably impacted by the retroactive reallocation of service
company costs of $1 million after-tax. Details on the retroactive service
company reallocation recorded in the prior year are included in the
Supplemental Data schedules of this release.

Corporate

Corporate results, which primarily include interest expense on holding company debt, incurred an ongoing operating loss of $207 million for the year compared with an ongoing operating loss of $219 million for 2003.

Progress Energy issued approximately 1.8 million shares of common stock in 2004 through the Investor Plus and employee benefit and options plans for proceeds of approximately $80 million.

ONGOING EARNINGS ADJUSTMENTS

Progress Energy's management uses ongoing earnings per share to evaluate the operations of the company and to establish goals for management and employees. Management believes this presentation is appropriate and enables investors to compare more accurately the company's ongoing financial performance over the periods presented. Ongoing earnings as presented here may not be comparable to similarly titled measures used by other companies. Reconciling adjustments from GAAP earnings to ongoing earnings as they relate to the current quarter and year, and information included in the Supplemental Data schedules are as follows:

Intraperiod Tax Allocation

Generally accepted accounting principles require companies to apply an effective tax rate to interim periods that is consistent with a company's estimated annual tax rate. The tax credits generated from synthetic fuel operations reduce Progress Energy's overall effective tax rate. The company's synthetic fuel sales are not subject to seasonal fluctuations to the same extent as the electric utility earnings. The company projects the effective tax rate for the year and then, based upon projected operating income for each quarter, raises or lowers the tax expense recorded in that quarter to reflect the projected tax rate. On the other hand, operating losses incurred to produce the tax credits are included in the current quarter. The resulting tax adjustment increased earnings per share by $0.02 for the fourth quarter 2004, and decreased earnings per share by $0.18 for the fourth quarter 2003, but had no impact on the company's annual earnings. Since this adjustment varies by quarter but has no impact on Progress Energy's annual earnings, management believes this adjustment is not representative of the company's ongoing quarterly earnings.

Contingent Value Obligation (CVO) Mark-to-Market

In connection with the acquisition of Florida Progress Corporation, Progress Energy issued 98.6 million CVOs. Each CVO represents the right to receive contingent payments based on after-tax cash flows above certain levels of four synthetic fuel facilities purchased by subsidiaries of Florida Progress Corporation in Oct. 1999. The CVOs are debt instruments and, under GAAP, are valued at market value. Unrealized gains and losses from changes in market value are recognized in earnings each quarter. The CVO mark-to-market increased earnings per share by $0.01 for the fourth quarter and $0.04 for 2004. In 2003, the CVO mark-to-market decreased earnings per share by $0.02 for the fourth quarter and $0.04 for the year. Since changes in the market value of the CVOs do not affect the company's underlying obligation, management does not consider the adjustment a component of ongoing earnings.

Gain on Sale of Natural Gas Assets

In Dec. 2004, the company finalized the sale of certain gas-producing properties and related assets and recognized a gain of $56 million pre-tax ($31 million after-tax) in earnings. Management does not believe this gain is representative of the ongoing operations of the company.

NCNG Discontinued Operations

The sale of NCNG to Piedmont Natural Gas closed on Sept. 30, 2003, and the net proceeds were used to pay down debt. Due to this sale, management does not believe this activity is representative of the ongoing operations of the company. Therefore, the operations of NCNG are reported as discontinued operations in the accompanying financial statements. NCNG had discontinued earnings of $6 million after-tax in 2004 from a reduction to the loss on the sale related to deferred taxes and a discontinued loss of $8 million after-tax in 2003.

SRS Litigation Settlement

In June 2004, SRS, a subsidiary of the company, reached a settlement agreement in a civil suit with the San Francisco Unified School District. As a result, the company recorded a charge of approximately $29 million after-tax in the second quarter of 2004. Management does not believe this settlement charge is indicative of ongoing operations of the company.

Cumulative Effect of Accounting Changes

In 2003, Progress Energy recorded the cumulative effect of changes in accounting principles due to the adoption of FASB accounting guidance. The impact to Progress Energy was due primarily to the new FASB guidance related to the accounting for certain contracts. This guidance discusses whether the pricing in a contract that contains broad market indices qualifies for certain exceptions that would not require the contract to be recorded at its fair value. Progress Energy Carolinas has a purchase power contract with Broad River LLC that did not meet the criteria for an exception, and a fair value adjustment was recorded in the fourth quarter of 2003. Due to the nonrecurring nature of this adjustment, management believes it is not representative of the 2003 ongoing operations of Progress Energy.

Impairments and One-Time Charges

During the fourth quarter of 2003, the company recorded after-tax impairments of its Affordable Housing portfolio and certain assets at the Kentucky May Coal Company. Management does not believe these impairments and one-time charges are representative of the ongoing operations of the company.

This earnings announcement, along with detailed financial information and presentation materials are available on the company's Web site at http://www.progress-energy.com .

Investors, media and the public are invited to listen to the live audio webcast of the year-end earnings results and 2005 financial forecast presentation. The presentation will begin Thursday, March 3 at 8 a.m. ET (5 a.m. PT), conclude around 10 a.m. ET (7 a.m. PT) and will be webcast to the general public. The webcast will be available in Windows Media format and will be archived on the site for those unable to listen in real time.

Audio from the meeting will be available by dialing (913) 981-5510 and entering confirmation code 1042833. Should you encounter problems, please contact Shannon Lockamy at (919) 546-7185.

A replay of the call will be available from 1 p.m. March 3, 2005, through midnight March 17, 2005, by calling (719) 457-0820 and entering replay passcode 1042833.

Progress Energy (NYSE: PGN - News), headquartered in Raleigh, N.C., is a Fortune 250 diversified energy company with more than 24,000 megawatts of generation capacity and $9 billion in annual revenues. The company's holdings include two electric utilities serving approximately 2.9 million customers in North Carolina, South Carolina and Florida. Progress Energy also includes nonregulated operations covering generation, energy marketing, natural gas production, fuel extraction, rail services and broadband capacity. For more information about Progress Energy, visit the company's Web site at http://www.progress-energy.com .

This document contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. The forward-looking statements involve estimates, projections, goals, forecasts, assumptions, risk and uncertainties that could cause actual results or outcomes to differ materially from those expressed in the forward-looking statements. Any forward-looking statement is based on information current as of the date of this report and speaks only as of the date such statement is made, and we undertake no obligation to update any forward-looking statement or statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date on which such statement is made. Examples of factors that you should consider with respect to any forward-looking statements made in this document include, but are not limited to, the following: the impact of fluid and complex government laws and regulations, including those relating to the environment; deregulation or restructuring in the electric industry that may result in increased competition and unrecovered (stranded) costs; our ability to implement our cost management initiatives as planned; the uncertainty regarding the timing, creation and structure of regional transmission organizations; weather conditions that directly influence the demand for electricity; our ability to recover through the regulatory process, and the timing of such recovery of, the costs associated with the four hurricanes that impacted our service territory in 2004 or other future significant weather events; recurring seasonal fluctuations in demand for electricity; fluctuations in the price of energy commodities and purchased power; economic fluctuations and the corresponding impact on the company and its subsidiaries' commercial and industrial customers; the ability of our subsidiaries to pay upstream dividends or distributions to us; the impact on the facilities and our businesses from a terrorist attack; the inherent risks associated with the operation of nuclear facilities, including environmental, health, regulatory and financial risks; the ability to successfully access capital markets on favorable terms; the impact on our financial condition and ability to meet our cash and other financial obligations in the event our credit ratings are downgraded below investment grade; the impact that increases in leverage may have on us; our ability to maintain our current credit ratings; the impact of derivative contracts used in the normal course of our business; investment performance of pension and benefit plans; our ability to control costs, including pension and benefit expense, and achieve its cost management targets for 2007; the availability and use of Internal Revenue Code Section 29 (Section 29) tax credits by synthetic fuel producers and our continued ability to use Section 29 tax credits related to its coal and synthetic fuel businesses; the impact to our financial condition and performance in the event it is determined we are not entitled to previously taken Section 29 tax credits; the impact of future accounting pronouncements regarding uncertain tax positions; the outcome of Progress Energy Florida's rate proceeding in 2005 regarding its future base rates; our ability to manage the risks involved with the operation of its nonregulated plants, including dependence on third parties and related counter-party risks, and a lack of operating history; our ability to manage the risks associated with its energy marketing operations; the outcome of any ongoing or future litigation or similar disputes and the impact of any such outcome or related settlements; and unanticipated changes in operating expenses and capital expenditures. Many of these risks similarly impact our subsidiaries.

These and other risk factors are detailed from time to time in our filings with the SEC. All such factors are difficult to predict, contain uncertainties that may materially affect actual results, and may be beyond our ability to control or estimate precisely. New factors emerge from time to time, and it is not possible for management to predict all such factors or to assess the effect each such factor will have on us.

Progress Energy, Inc.
CONSOLIDATED INTERIM FINANCIAL STATEMENTS -
December 31, 2004

UNAUDITED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS of INCOME

Three Months Ended Year Ended
(in millions except December 31 December 31
per share data) 2004 2003 2004 2003
Operating Revenues
Electric $1,704 $1,590 $7,153 $6,741
Diversified business 654 457 2,619 2,000
Total Operating
Revenues 2,358 2,047 9,772 8,741
Operating Expenses
Utility
Fuel used in electric
generation 494 401 2,011 1,695
Purchased power 197 195 868 862
Operation and
maintenance 415 353 1,475 1,421
Depreciation and
amortization 256 219 878 883
Taxes other than on
income 97 101 425 405
Diversified business
Cost of sales 574 403 2,288 1,748
Depreciation and
amortization 47 43 190 157
Impairment of long-
lived assets - 17 - 17
(Gain)/loss on the sale
of assets (56) 1 (57) 1
Other 43 66 218 195
Total Operating
Expenses 2,067 1,799 8,296 7,384
Operating Income 291 248 1,476 1,357
Other Income (Expense)
Interest income 5 3 14 11
Impairment of investments - (21) - (21)
Other, net 5 3 8 (16)
Total Other Income
(Expense) 10 (15) 22 (26)
Interest Charges
Net interest charges 167 173 653 635
Allowance for borrowed
funds used during
construction (1) - (6) (7)
Total Interest
Charges, Net 166 173 647 628
Income from Continuing
Operations before Income
Tax, Minority
Interest and Cumulative
Effect of Changes in
Accounting Principles 135 60 851 703
Income Tax (Benefit)
Expense (43) (56) 115 (111)
Income from Continuing
Operations before
Minority Interest and
Cumulative Effect of
Changes in Accounting
Principles 178 116 736 814
Minority Interest,
Net of Tax (11) 3 (17) 3
Income from Continuing
Operations Before
Cumulative Effect of
Changes in Accounting
Principles 189 113 753 811
Discontinued Operations,
Net of Tax 5 (3) 6 (8)
Cumulative Effect of
Changes in Accounting
Principles, Net of Tax - (22) - (21)
Net Income $194 $88 $759 $782
Average Common Shares
Outstanding 243 240 242 237
Basic Earnings per
Common Share
Income from Continuing
Operations before
Cumulative Effect
of Change in Accounting
Principle $0.78 $0.47 $3.11 $3.42
Discontinued Operations,
Net of Tax 0.02 (0.01) 0.02 (0.03)
Cumulative Effect of
Changes in Accounting
Principles, Net of Tax - (0.09) - (0.09)
Net Income $0.80 $0.37 $3.13 $3.30

Diluted Earnings per
Income from Continuing
Operations before
Cumulative Effect
of Change in Accounting
Principle $0.78 $0.47 $3.10 $3.40
Discontinued Operations,
Net of Tax 0.02 (0.01) 0.02 (0.03)
Cumulative Effect of
Changes in Accounting
Principles, Net of Tax - (0.09) - (0.09)
Net Income $0.80 $0.37 $3.12 $3.28
Dividends Declared per
Common Share $ 0.590 $0.580 $ 2.32 $2.26

This financial information should be read in conjunction with the
Company's Annual Report to shareholders. These statements have been
prepared for the purpose of providing information concerning the Company
and not in connection with any sale, offer for sale, or solicitation of an
offer to by any securities.

PROGRESS ENERGY, INC.
UNAUDITED CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS
(in millions) December 31 December 31
ASSETS 2004 2003
Utility Plant
Utility plant in service $22,103 $21,680
Accumulated depreciation (8,438) (8,174)
Utility plant in service, net 13,665 13,506
Held for future use 13 13
Construction work in progress 799 559
Nuclear fuel, net of amortization 231 228
Total Utility Plant, Net 14,708 14,306
Current Assets
Cash and cash equivalents 100 98
Short-term investments 44 175
Receivables 1,084 1,084
Inventory 982 907
Deferred fuel cost 229 270
Deferred income taxes 121 87
Prepayments and other current assets 175 268
Total Current Assets 2,735 2,889
Deferred Debits and Other Assets
Regulatory assets 1,064 598
Nuclear decommissioning trust funds 1,044 938
Diversified business property, net 2,010 2,095
Miscellaneous other property and investments 446 464
Goodwill 3,719 3,726
Prepaid pension costs 42 462
Intangibles, net 337 357
Other assets and deferred debits 233 258
Total Deferred Debits and Other Assets 8,895 8,898
Total Assets $26,338 $26,093

CAPITALIZATION AND LIABILITIES
Common Stock Equity
Common stock without par value, 500
million shares authorized, 247 and
246 million shares issued and
outstanding, respectively $5,360 $5,270
Unearned restricted shares (1 and 1 million
shares, respectively) (13) (17)
Unearned ESOP shares (3 and 5 million
shares, respectively) (76) (89)
Accumulated other comprehensive loss (164) (50)
Retained earnings 2,526 2,330
Total Common Stock Equity 7,633 7,444
Preferred Stock of Subsidiaries - Not
Subject to Mandatory Redemption 93 93
Minority Interest 36 30
Long-Term Debt, Affiliate 270 270
Long-Term Debt, Net 9,251 9,664
Total Capitalization 17,283 17,501
Current Liabilities
Current portion of long-term debt 349 868
Accounts payable 742 635
Interest accrued 219 228
Dividends declared 145 140
Short-term obligations 684 4
Customer deposits 180 167
Other current liabilities 742 608
Total Current Liabilities 3,061 2,650
Deferred Credits and Other Liabilities
Accumulated deferred income taxes 599 701
Accumulated deferred investment tax credits 176 190
Regulatory liabilities 2,999 2,879
Asset retirement obligations 1,282 1,271
Accrued pension and other benefits 562 508
Other liabilities and deferred credits 376 393
Total Deferred Credits and Other Liabilities 5,994 5,942
Commitments and Contingencies
Total Capitalization and Liabilities $26,338 $26,093

PROGRESS ENERGY, INC.
UNAUDITED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS of CASH FLOWS

Year Ended December 30
(in millions) 2004 2003

Operating Activities
Net income $759 $782
Adjustments to reconcile net income to net
cash provided by operating activities:
(Income) loss from discontinued
operations (6) 8
Net (gain) loss on sale of operating
assets (57) 1
Impairment of long-lived assets and
investments - 38
Cumulative effect of change in accounting
principle - 21
Depreciation and amortization 1,181 1,146
Deferred income taxes (74) (276)
Investment tax credit (14) (16)
Deferred fuel credit (19) (133)
Cash provided (used) by changes in
operating assets and liabilities:
Receivables (35) (158)
Inventory (108) 8
Prepayments and other current assets (18) 39
Accounts payable 33 37
Other current liabilities 82 121
Regulatory assets and liabilities (284) (21)
Other 167 127
Net Cash Provided by Operating Activities 1,607 1,724
Investing Activities
Gross utility property additions (998) (972)
Diversified business property additions (236) (584)
Nuclear fuel additions (101) (117)
Proceeds from sales of subsidiaries and
investments 366 579
Purchases of short-term investments (966) (712)
Proceeds from sales of short-term investments 1,097 537
Acquisition of intangibles (1) (200)
Other (46) (26)
Net Cash Used in Investing Activities (885) (1,495)
Financing Activities
Issuance of common stock, net 72 304
Issuance of long-term debt, net 421 1,539
Net increase (decrease) in short-term
indebtedness 680 (696)
Retirement of long-term debt (1,353) (810)
Dividends paid on common stock (558) (541)
Other 18 12
Net Cash Used in Financing Activities (720) (192)
Net (Decrease) Increase in Cash and Cash
Equivalents 2 37
Cash and Cash Equivalents at Beginning of Period 98 61
Cash and Cash Equivalents at End of Period $100 $98

Progress Energy, Inc.
SUPPLEMENTAL DATA Page S-1
Unaudited

Progress Energy, Inc.
Earnings Variances
Fourth Quarter 2004 vs. 2003

Regulated Utilities
Corporate
and Other
Carol- Busines- Consoli-
($ per share) inas Florida Fuels CCO ses dated

2003 GAAP earnings 0.45 0.20 0.25 (0.02) (0.52) 0.36
Intra-period tax
allocation 0.18 A 0.18
CVO mark-to-market 0.02 B 0.02
NCNG discontinued
operations 0.01 C 0.01
Cumulative effect of
accounting change 0.10 (0.01)D 0.09
Impairment of long-lived
assets and investments 0.03 0.05 0.02 E 0.10
2003 ongoing earnings 0.58 0.20 0.30 (0.02) (0.30) 0.76

Weather - retail - - -
Other retail - growth and
usage 0.03 0.03 0.06
Wholesale (0.04) F (0.04)
Retail revenue sharing - 0.01 0.01
Other margin (0.01) - (0.01)

O&M (0.16) 0.01 G (0.15)

Utility depreciation and
amortization (0.08) (0.01) - - - H (0.09)

Other (0.02) 0.02 - - - I -

Interest charges 0.01 (0.01) - - 0.02 J 0.02

Net diversified business - - 0.03 (0.04) 0.07 K,L, 0.06
M

Share dilution - - - - - -

2004 ongoing earnings 0.31 0.25 0.33 (0.06) (0.21) 0.62
Intra-period tax
allocation 0.02 A 0.02
CVO mark-to-market 0.01 B 0.01
NCNG discontinued
operations 0.02 C 0.02
Gain on sale of gas assets 0.13 N 0.13
2004 GAAP earnings 0.31 0.25 0.46 (0.06) (0.16) 0.80

Corporate and Other Businesses includes Progress Telecom, Progress Rail,
other small subsidiaries, Holding Company interest expense, CVO mark-to-
market, intra-period tax allocations, purchase accounting transactions and
corporate eliminations.

A - Intra-period income tax allocation impact, related to cyclical nature
of energy demand/earnings and timing of synthetic fuel tax credits.
B - Impact of change in market value of outstanding CVOs.
C - Sale of NCNG to Piedmont Natural Gas which was finalized on
September 30, 2003.
D - Carolinas - Impact of mark to market adjustment on Broad River
purchase power contract.
E - Carolinas and Corporate and Other Businesses - Primarily due to impact
of impairment of Affordable Housing investments.
F - Carolinas - Wholesale margins decreased due to weaker power market
conditions, increased fuel prices and lower contracted capacity in the
wholesale market.
G - Carolinas - Higher O&M primarily due to increased business unit
spending as a result of nuclear outages and costs associated with
severe storms. Results for Q4 2003 included the deferral of severe
storm costs.
Florida - Lower O&M due to favorable pension costs and the delay of
several major projects due to storm restoration work.
H - Carolinas - Higher amortization due to maximum Clean Air amortization
recorded in 2004, partially offset by reduced depreciation expense due
primarily to lower rates based on depreciation studies filed in 2004.
Florida - Increased depreciation expense due primarily to property
additions, including Hines 2.
I - Carolinas - Increase in other costs is primarily due to higher income
taxes due to a reduction in Affordable Housing tax credits.
Florida - Decrease in other costs is due to reduction in payroll taxes
and favorable property taxes for the quarter.
J - Corporate and Other Businesses - Reduction in interest expense is due
to repayment of $500M of debt at the Holding Company during the first
quarter of 2004.
K - Fuels - The increase is due primarily to the reversal of charge booked
in Q3 2004 to reduce tax credits, partially offset by less production.
Charge was reversed based on reasonable expectation that FPSC would
allow recovery of PEF's storm costs which reduced the loss from the
casualty and increased the Company's projected 2004 federal income tax
liability.
L - CCO - The decrease is due primarily to the loss on the early
redemption of a financing facility.
M - Corporate and Other Businesses - Increase is due to a reduction in
losses recorded for various investments and reduction in losses for
SRS operations.
N - Gain on sale of certain North Texas Gas assets in December 2004.

Progress Energy, Inc.
SUPPLEMENTAL DATA Page S-2
Unaudited
Progress Energy, Inc.
Earnings Variances
2004 vs. 2003

Regulated Utilities
Corporate
and Other
Carol- Busines- Consoli-
($ per share) inas Florida Fuels CCO ses dated

2003 GAAP earnings 2.07 1.24 0.99 0.08 (1.08) 3.30
CVO mark-to-market 0.04 A 0.04
NCNG discontinued
operations 0.03 B 0.03
Cumulative effect of
accounting change 0.10 (0.01)C 0.09
Impairment of long-lived
assets and investments 0.03 0.05 0.02 D 0.10
2003 ongoing earnings 2.20 1.24 1.04 0.08 (1.00) 3.56

Weather - retail 0.09 (0.02) 0.07
Other retail - growth and
usage 0.14 0.05 E 0.19
Wholesale (0.21) 0.03 F (0.18)
Retail revenue sharing - 0.06 G 0.06
Other margin 0.02 0.10 H 0.12

O&M (0.18) 0.06 I (0.12)

Service Company
reallocation prior years (0.04) - 0.01 0.01 0.02 J 0.00

Utility depreciation and
amortization (0.02) (0.05) - - - K (0.07)

Other (0.05) - - - - L (0.05)

Interest charges 0.01 (0.06) - (0.03) 0.03 M,N, (0.05)
O

Net diversified business - - (0.43) (0.08) 0.10 P,Q, (0.41)
R

Share dilution (0.04) (0.03) (0.01) - 0.02 S (0.06)

2004 ongoing earnings 1.92 1.38 0.61 (0.02) (0.83) 3.06
CVO mark-to-market 0.04 A 0.04
NCNG discontinued
operations 0.02 B 0.02
SRS Litigation Settlement (0.12)T (0.12)
Gain on sale of gas assets 0.13 U 0.13
2004 GAAP earnings 1.92 1.38 0.74 (0.02) (0.89) 3.13

Corporate and Other Businesses includes Progress Telecom, Progress Rail,
other small subsidiaries, Holding Company interest expense, CVO mark-to-
market, intra-period tax allocations, purchase accounting transactions and
corporate eliminations.

A - Impact of change in market value of outstanding CVOs.
B - Sale of NCNG to Piedmont Natural Gas which was finalized on
September 30, 2003.
C - Carolinas - Impact of mark to market adjustment on Broad River
purchase power contract.
D - Carolinas and Corporate and Other Businesses - Primarily due to impact
of impairment of Affordable Housing investments.
Fuels - Impairment of assets at Kentucky May coal mine.
E - Florida - Growth and usage includes lost revenues from the storms of
$(0.03) per share. Exclusive of the lost revenue, growth and usage
for the year was up $0.08 per share.
F - Carolinas - Wholesale decrease primarily driven by favorable 2003
weather that led to increased off-system sales. Additionally, 2004
margins were decreased by weaker power market conditions, increased
fuel prices and lower contracted capacity in the wholesale market.
Florida - Wholesale increase driven by extension of several existing
and signing of new contracts.
G - Florida - Lower revenue sharing due to additional refund for 2002
recorded in 2003.
H - Carolinas - The increase is due to favorability of purchased power
costs.
Florida - Primarily return on investment on Hines 2 which was placed
in service in December 2003.
I - Carolinas - Higher O&M primarily due to increased business unit
spending as a result of nuclear outages and costs associated with
severe storms.
Florida - Lower O&M due primarily to favorable pension costs based on
plan asset performance, the nuclear outage costs in the prior year,
the absence of planning activities for a nuclear outage, and the delay
of several major projects due to storm restoration work.
J - Reallocation of Service Company costs (retroactive component for 2001
and 2002) in accordance with SEC PUHCA Audit in Q1 2003.
K - Carolinas - Higher amortization due to maximum Clean Air amortization
recorded in 2004, partially offset by reduced depreciation expense due
primarily to lower rates based on depreciation studies filed in 2004.
Florida - Increased depreciation expense due primarily to property
additions, including Hines 2.
L - Carolinas - Increase in other cost is due primarily to an increase in
property taxes and an increase in income taxes due to a reduction in
Affordable Housing tax credits over the prior year.
M - Florida - Interest costs in 2003 were favorably impacted by the
reversal of interest expense accrued for resolved tax matters.
N - CCO - Interest is no longer capitalized related to construction at
nonregulated generation plants due to completion of plants on which
interest was capitalized.
O - Corporate and Other Businesses - Reduction in interest expense is due
to repayment of $500M of debt at the Holding Company during the first
quarter of 2004.
P - Fuels - The decrease resulted primarily from lower synthetic fuel
sales as a result of the reduction in the company's projected 2004 tax
liability from hurricane costs. Reduction was partially offset by
favorable gas earnings due to higher volumes and prices compared to
prior year.
Q - CCO - Decrease due to: 1) increased depreciation and amortization
charges and fixed costs as a result of additional plants being placed
in service, 2) loss on early redemption of a financing facility and 3)
receipt of a termination payment for a tolling contract received in Q1
2003. These items were partially offset by favorable margins on
several contracts.
R - Corporate and Other Businesses - Increase primarily due to increased
profitability from the Rail business due to favorable recycling
margins.
S - Due to the impact of issuances under Investor Plus and Employee
Benefit programs.
T - Impact of SRS settlement reached in civil proceedings.
U - Gain on sale of certain North Texas Gas assets in December 2004.

Progress Energy, Inc.
SUPPLEMENTAL DATA Page S-3
Unaudited

Three Months Ended Three Months Ended
December 31, 2004 December 31, 2003
Total Total
Carol- Progress Carol- Progress
Utility Statistics inas Florida Energy inas Florida Energy

Operating Revenues (in
millions)
Retail
Residential $283 $429 $712 $269 $391 $660
Commercial 211 216 427 201 183 384
Industrial 163 62 225 154 58 212
Other retail 20 55 75 19 47 66
Provision for retail
revenue sharing -
2004 - (8) (8) - (11) (11)
Total Retail $677 $754 $1,431 $643 $668 $1,311
Unbilled 19 (6) 13 26 (4) 22
Wholesale 135 68 203 149 54 203
Miscellaneous revenue 21 36 57 20 34 54
Total Electric $852 $852 $1,704 $838 $752 $1,590

Energy Sales (millions
of kWh)
Retail
Residential 3,332 4,570 7,902 3,220 4,433 7,653
Commercial 3,037 2,968 6,005 2,941 2,826 5,767
Industrial 3,213 981 4,194 3,132 1,049 4,181
Other retail 335 803 1,138 327 771 1,098
Total Retail 9,917 9,322 19,239 9,620 9,079 18,699
Unbilled 371 (151) 220 505 (208) 297
Wholesale 3,074 1,292 4,366 3,648 1,151 4,799
Total Electric 13,362 10,463 23,825 13,773 10,022 23,795

Energy Supply (millions
of kWh)
Generated - steam 6,468 5,212 11,680 6,428 5,672 12,100
nuclear 6,002 1,731 7,733 6,534 1,026 7,560
hydro 239 - 239 177 - 177
combustion
turbines
/combined
cycle 213 1,552 1,765 70 1,570 1,640
Purchased 1,022 2,345 3,367 859 2,232 3,091
Total Energy
Supply
(Company
Share) 13,944 10,840 24,784 14,068 10,500 24,568

Impact of Weather to
Normal on Retail Sales
Heating Degree Days
- Actual 1,123 198 1,179 214
- Normal 1,204 194 1,212 194

Cooling Degree Days
- Actual 77 322 47 330
- Normal 62 321 65 321

Impact of retail weather
to normal on EPS ($0.02) $0.00 ($0.02) ($0.02) $0.00 ($0.02)

Percentage Change
From December 31, 2003
Carolinas Florida

Operating Revenues (in millions)
Retail
Residential 5.2% 9.7%
Commercial 5.0 18.0
Industrial 5.8 6.9
Other retail 5.3 17.0
Provision for retail revenue
sharing - 2004 (27.3)
Total Retail 5.3 12.9
Unbilled
Wholesale (9.4) 25.9
Miscellaneous revenue 5.0 5.9
Total Electric 1.7% 13.3%

Energy Sales (millions of kWh)
Retail
Residential 3.5% 3.1%
Commercial 3.3 5.0
Industrial 2.6 (6.5)
Other retail 2.4 4.2
Total Retail 3.1 2.7
Unbilled
Wholesale (15.7) 12.3
Total Electric (3.0)% 4.4%

Energy Supply (millions of kWh)
Generated - steam
nuclear
hydro
combustion turbines/
combined cycle
Purchased
Total Energy Supply
(Company Share)

Impact of Weather to Normal on Retail
Sales
Heating Degree Days - Actual (4.7)% (7.5)%
- Normal

Cooling Degree Days - Actual 63.8% (2.4)%
- Normal

Impact of retail weather to normal on EPS

Twelve Months Ended Twelve Months Ended
December 31, 2004 December 31, 2003
Total Total
Carol- Progress Carol- Progress
Utility Statistics inas Florida Energy inas Florida Energy

Operating Revenues (in
millions)
Retail
Residential $1,324 $1,806 $3,130 $1,259 $1,691 $2,950
Commercial 888 853 1,741 850 740 1,590
Industrial 659 254 913 636 219 855
Other retail 82 211 293 79 181 260
Provision for
retail revenue
sharing - 2004 - (9) (9) - - -
Provision for
retail revenue
sharing - 2003 - (2) (2) - - -
Provision for
retail revenue
sharing - 2002 - - - - (35) (35)
Total Retail $2,953 $3,113 $6,066 $2,824 $2,796 $5,620
Unbilled 10 7 17 (6) (2) (8)
Wholesale 575 268 843 687 227 914
Miscellaneous revenue 90 137 227 84 131 215
Total
Electric $3,628 $3,525 $7,153 $3,589 $3,152 $6,741

Energy Sales (millions
of kWh)
Retail
Residential 16,003 19,347 35,350 15,283 19,429 34,712
Commercial 13,019 11,734 24,753 12,557 11,553 24,110
Industrial 13,036 4,069 17,105 12,749 4,000 16,749
Other retail 1,431 3,044 4,475 1,408 2,974 4,382
Total Retail 43,489 38,194 81,683 41,997 37,956 79,953
Unbilled 91 358 449 (44) 233 189
Wholesale 13,222 5,101 18,323 15,518 4,323 19,841
Total
Electric 56,802 43,653 100,455 57,471 42,512 99,983

Energy Supply (millions
of kWh)
Generated - steam 28,632 22,150 50,782 28,522 22,979 51,501
nuclear 23,742 6,703 30,445 24,537 6,039 30,576
hydro 802 - 802 955 - 955
combustion
turbines
/combined
cycle 1,926 7,769 9,695 1,344 6,475 7,819
Purchased 4,023 9,443 13,466 4,467 9,381 13,848
Total Energy
Supply
(Company
Share) 59,125 46,065 105,190 59,825 44,874 104,699

Impact of Weather to
Normal on Retail Sales
Heating Degree Days
- Actual 3,187 583 3,225 696
- Normal 3,113 579 3,122 579

Cooling Degree Days
- Actual 1,687 3,643 1,449 3,665
- Normal 1,660 3,792 1,702 3,792

Impact of retail weather
to normal on EPS $0.02 ($0.02) $0.00 ($0.07) $0.01 ($0.06)

Percentage Change
From December 31, 2003
Utility Statistics Carolinas Florida

Operating Revenues (in millions)
Retail
Residential 5.2% 6.8%
Commercial 4.5 15.3
Industrial 3.6 16.0
Other retail 3.8 16.6
Provision for retail revenue
sharing - 2004 -
Provision for retail revenue
sharing - 2003 -
Provision for retail revenue
sharing - 2002 (100.0)
Total Retail 4.6 11.3
Unbilled
Wholesale (16.3) 18.1
Miscellaneous revenue 7.1 4.6
Total Electric 1.1% 11.8%

Energy Sales (millions of kWh)
Retail
Residential 4.7% (0.4)%
Commercial 3.7 1.6
Industrial 2.3 1.7
Other retail 1.6 2.4
Total Retail 3.6 0.6
Unbilled
Wholesale (14.8) 18.0
Total Electric (1.2)% 2.7%

Energy Supply (millions of kWh)
Generated - steam
nuclear
hydro
combustion turbines/
combined cycle
Purchased
Total Energy Supply
(Company Share)

Impact of Weather to Normal on Retail
Sales
Heating Degree Days - Actual (1.2)% (16.2)%
- Normal

Cooling Degree Days - Actual 16.4% (0.6)%
- Normal

Impact of retail weather to normal on EPS

Progress Energy, Inc.
SUPPLEMENTAL DATA Page S-4
Unaudited

Financial Statistics December 31
2004 2003

Return on average common stock equity
(12 months ended) 10.0% 11.1%
Book value per common share $31.26 $30.94
Capitalization
Common stock equity 41.7% 40.5%
Preferred stock and Minority interest 0.7 0.7
Total debt 57.6 58.8
Total Capitalization 100.0% 100.0%

1st Quarter 2003 Earnings Impact of Cumulative Service Company
Reallocation Adjustment

($ in millions)

2001-2002 2001-2002
Retroactive Retroactive
Reallocation Reallocation
Line of Business (pre-tax) (after-tax)

Progress Energy Carolinas $16 $10
Progress Energy Florida 2 1
Progress Fuels (6) (4)
Competitive Commercial Operations (3) (2)
Holding Company (5) (3)
Progress Rail (5) (3)
Progress Telecom 1 1
Total $0 $0

The SEC completed its initial audit of Progress Energy Service Company's
cost allocation process in March 2003. The SEC routinely audits new
holding company systems within the first two years of their formation. As
a result of this audit, the SEC directed the company to change its
allocation methodology for assigning service company costs to Progress
Energy's subsidiaries. Upon completion of the audit, Progress Energy
changed its allocation methodology and recorded reallocation adjustments
to reflect this new method. These reallocation adjustments were recorded
in the first quarter of 2003 and include a cumulative adjustment for years
2001 and 2002. These retroactive reallocation entries had no impact on
consolidated earnings.

Progress Energy, Inc.
SUPPLEMENTAL DATA Page S-5
Unaudited

2003 Quarterly Restatement of Subsidiary Reporting Period Change

Beginning in the fourth quarter of 2003, the Company ceased recording
portions of the Progress Fuels' segment operations, primarily synthetic
fuel facilities, one month in arrears. As a result, earnings for the year
ended December 31, 2003 included 13 months of these operations, resulting
in a net income increase of $2 million for the year. The Company restated
previously reported consolidated quarterly earnings to reflect the new
reporting periods, resulting in four months of earnings in the restated
first quarter 2003 net income. The resulting impact for each quarter is
outlined in the tables below.

2003
Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Total

Published Quarterly Ongoing earnings $184 $157 $306 $197 $844
Adjustment for Subsidiary Reporting
Period Change 11 4 (1) (14) -
Restated Quarterly Ongoing earnings $195 $161 $305 $183 $844

2003
Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Total

Reported Quarterly GAAP net income $208 $153 $319 $102 $782
Adjustment for Subsidiary Reporting
Period Change 11 4 (1) (14) -
Restated Reported Quarterly GAAP Net
Income $219 $157 $318 $88 $782

Reconciliation of Restated Quarterly Ongoing earnings to Restated
Quarterly Reported GAAP net income:
2003
Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Total

Ongoing Earnings $195 $161 $305 $183 $844
CVO mark-to-market* 2 (2) (5) (4) (9)
NCNG discontinued operations* 11 3 (18) (4) (8)
Cumulative effect of accounting
changes* 1 - - (22) (21)
Impairments and one-time charges* - - - (24) (24)
Intraperiod tax allocation* 10 (5) 36 (41) -
Reported GAAP net income $219 $157 $318 $88 $782

* See explanation for ongoing earnings adjustments under the caption
"Ongoing Earnings Adjustments" in the text of the press release.

Wednesday, February 23, 2005

Telecom Insights

Here are a few insights, as well as ideas in the realm of telecommunications.
Nortel Continues to Show Momentum with Cable OperatorsFebruary 23, 2005 - Nortel is in a unique position to help cable operators create new revenue opportunities and reduce operational expenditures, due to our breadth of product portfolio, technical expertise in deploying revenue generating solutions and our history of partnering with cable operators. We continue to increase our focus on this significant market. In support of our cable strategy, Nortel continues to demonstrate progress in line with our three cable commitments: new product development geared specifically to cable applications; commitment to the technology and standards organizations which serve the cable industry; and implementing real world solutions that address cable operators' fundamental business and networking challenges. Nortel's momentum with cable operators is demonstrated by the following important announcements:
How VOIP Works! - TORONTO – Nordia Inc., a leading Canadian provider of world-class customer relationship management solutions, has deployed enhanced IP (Internet Protocol) contact center solutions from Nortel* [NYSE/TSX: NT] to extend to its customers telecommunications relay service for the deaf, hard-of-hearing and speech impaired. Relay service makes it possible for these individuals to communicate with others by telephone, radio, or Internet connection. It transcribes conversation into text, video or other media as appropriate.
"Our customers have overcome profound barriers to communication and it’s our goal to ensure that their achievements are not limited in any way when it comes to communicating via electronic media," said Paulette Beaudry-Klug, president and chief executive officer, Nordia. "We are focused on ensuring that this segment of our customers’ base have their needs met without compromise."
"We selected Nortel because of its proven track record in deploying contact center solutions,” Beaudry-Klug said. “Nortel’s solution is a key component in managing the new American Relay Service which became operational in December 2004.”
Nordia also manages a variety of mandates for a Canadian telecommunication company and for private corporations in recreational, financial services and pharmaceutical markets.
"Our work with Nordia underscores Nortel’s commitment to enhance the human experience,” said Malcolm Collins, president, Enterprise Networks, Nortel. “Providing Nordia with innovative technology that allows people to communicate effectively regardless of their situation is profoundly rewarding. Together, we’re working to meet the specialized needs of those with hearing and speech impairments and to enhance their overall communications experience."
Using Nortel’s Symposium* Call Center Server and Computer Telephony Integration (CTI), Nordia is providing relay services that include Web relay, three-way calling and conference calls as well as regular speech-to-speech (STS) and video relay. Nordia expects to handle approximately 1.9 million calls across all modalities in 2005.
Nortel is a leading supplier of advanced speech applications with more than 200 speech applications deployed in 16 countries and 15 languages.
Nortel recently received the Frost & Sullivan 2004 Speech Solutions Competitive Strategy Award; the Frost & Sullivan 2004 Award for Market Leadership (U.S. Integrated Voice Response (IVR) market); and the Frost & Sullivan 2004 Award for Best Bang for the Buck (EMEA Automatic Call Distribution (ACD) market) for its accomplishments in deploying speech technologies for enterprises.
Technology Marketing Corporation (TMC®)'s Customer Inter@ction Solutions® magazine also gave Nortel's Symposium Call Center Server the 2004 Product of the Year Award.
Over the past 30 years, Nortel has deployed more than 40,000 contact centers and 8,000 self-service solutions worldwide. Nortel contact center solutions support an estimated four million agents handling 68 million calls per day. Nortel was #1 in market share for total contact center systems shipped in the United States for the first half of 2004, according to InfoTech, and in Canada for 2003, according to NBI/Michael Sone.

Latest Telecom News

CommSec Seeks Role in Sale of Telstra Stake
Worldwide Carrier VoIP Equipment Up 36% to $1.7B in 2004; North American Subscribers Grow 1M to 17M
Nokia board to meet in Delhi in May: Maran
Setup these headlines on your site, Free
WorldCom executive cites Ebbers' gripes about CFO

Thursday, February 10, 2005

Optelecom Feb 10th 2005

GERMANTOWN, Md., Feb. 10 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Optelecom, Inc.,(Nasdaq: OPTC) a leading supplier of advanced digital video, audio, and datacommunications equipment, software, and solutions, today announced it willrelease fourth quarter and full year earnings for 2004 on Tuesday, February22nd, 2005. Optelecom president and CEO Edmund Ludwig will lead a conference call todiscuss the fourth quarter and full year 2004 results at 10:00 a.m. EasternTime, Thursday, February 24th. Interested parties are welcome to call 800-510-9661 (International DialIn: 617-614-3452) and request the "Optelecom conference call" shortly beforethe designated start time. The telephone conference call will feature aquestion and answer segment with management. For those parties unable toparticipate in the live conference call, a replay will be available from noonfollowing the teleconference until 3/3/05. Those wishing to listen to thereplay of the call should call 888-286-8010 (International Dial In:617-801-6888) and enter reservation number 63805541 when prompted. The call is being webcast by CCBN and can be accessed athttp://www.fulldisclosure.com or at Optelecom's websitehttp://www.optelecom.com Optelecom, Inc. is a leading provider of advanced communication platformsthat transport data, video, and audio over networks. The Company designs,develops, manufactures, and markets high-bandwidth fiber optic-basedcommunications systems for traffic monitoring, security/surveillance, andbusiness video systems. Investor inquiries should be directed to Mr. RickAlpert at 301-948-7872

Wednesday, February 02, 2005

Telecom Directories and Info

Telecom Directories - Yahoo Telecom Directories search




Monday, January 24, 2005

The Enronization of Telecom

THE ENRONIZATION OF TELECOM

by David S. Isenberg

Irony (n) (1) The use of words to express something
different from and often opposite to their literal meaning.
(2) Incongruity between what might be expected and what
actually occurs.

Enrony (n) (1) The use of accounting to express something
different from and often opposite to its financial meaning.
(2) Incongruity between what might be expected and what
actually occurs.

I just received a startling reaffirmation of the idea that
the even the mightiest telcos could be heading for a fall
from The Precursor Group, a Washington DC institutional
investor advisory service. The Precursor Group has an
inside track on the Washington DC tech-reg scene, including
issues before the FCC, Congressional committee action, etc.
They're not the place to watch for outside disruptive
influences (in a year-old survey of telecom technologies
they left out fiber and unlicensed wireless), so when they
say that something is happening, you can be sure it is
mainstream-ready.

Precursor Watch (2/5/02) says:
"The fundamental health of the [telecom] sector is likely
to get worse before it gets better . . . The combination
of: the sector's anemic growth outlook, the
cannibalizing competitive mega-trends of wireless
substitution, voice to data migration, Bell entry into
long distance combined with local competition, and the
bubble-induced excesses in debt and over-capacity, all
create a powerful wealth destroying dynamic. Telecom's
'debt spiral' has gotten so bad that even the relatively
strongest players who are still able to raise
significant capital (VZ, SBC, and BLS) don't want to
assume any more liabilities or business risk.
Consequently, Precursor is reversing its long held view
that consolidation can help improve the sector from
excess capacity and debt any time soon."

The Precursor piece ends ominously:
"Policymakers throughout the Government remain largely
oblivious to both the magnitude and economic
implications of the telecom-tech meltdown and the
destructive role government competition policy has
played in helping precipitate this market debacle."
[For more info see http://www.precursorgroup.com]

Roxane Googin, following from her interview in SMART Letter
#64, has given a longer, more in-depth interview for the
next issue of the Cook Report on Internet. Gordon Cook has
a Ph.D. in Russian history and a nose for behind-the-scenes
shenanigans, so 'in depth' is pretty deep. Googin and Cook
cite chapter, verse, row, and column (and provide URL
pointers to ILEC annual reports) to show exactly where
incumbent telcos are losing lines, minutes, revenues. They
deconstruct the Annual Report as a literary form -- for
example, "Over the years, the voice, or core business, part
of the income statement appears later and later as the bad
news is buried ever closer toward the rear." And --
surprise! -- Googin and Cook find places among the reports
where it is impossible for even an Arthur Andersen
accountant to infer what is going on. Fall into the GAAP.

[The Cook Report on Internet is only available by
subscription -- see http://www.cookreport.com/ for
subscription info and executive summaries. The Googin
edition of the Cook Report will be worth the annual
subscription fee itself. An extended commentary on Googin
by bullshit-buster Andrew Odlyzko, which takes issue with
many of Googin's specifics but concurs on general
direction, is also included. It is also worth the
subscription fee itself. (For comparison, this edition of
the SMART Letter is worth a mere 5.2% of its subscription
fee.)]

I've been thinking about Googin's plaint for a year and a
half, off and on. I'm coming to the view that she's seeing
two loosely coupled, separable phenomena. The first thing
she's seeing is the general malaise in the telecom sector,
aggravated by bubble-busting, debt-hiding, other accounting
tricks, and not-very-radical technology substitution (e.g.,
cell phones for land lines, email for phone calls). The
second phenomenon, the stranding of network assets because
they're rendered obsolete by radically cheaper,
fundamentally simpler networks, is potentially much more
powerful, but is a longer-term phenomenon that has not yet
hit the local telco's fan.

The long distance market provides a model for how the
latter might happen. Qwest (the former aggressive startup)
was the first long-haul network company to build a
nationwide network using the new, radically simplified,
radically abundant fiber technologies. The Qwest network
came on line in 1997 and 1998. Joe Nacchio, Qwest's CEO,
sitting pretty on a plush pile of potential profit margin,
said that he did not want to start a price war. And at
first he didn't.

But Qwest's new network set up a powerful economic tension.
When GTE made Qwest an offer to buy twelve transcontinental
fibers, which would (for all intents) pay for Qwest's
entire build, Qwest could not refuse. Suddenly there were
two competitors with radically reduced cost bases,
radically increased capacities, and an insatiable hunger
for new traffic. Suddenly it was inevitable that long
distance prices would fall steeply. Nevertheless, it has
taken the long-distance-classic sector (AT&T, Sprint, WCOM)
four years to show visible financial signs of tottering.
(The long-distance guys did a pretty good job of holding
off incumbent LEC entry into LD, so this is a fairly pure
case.)

In contrast, the local market is still an old guard, old
tech monopoly. The incumbent-killing economics of radical
abundance have not kicked in. There is not that much fiber
in the ground. Most of the fiber that exists is not
available to its potential market. According to Steve
Garofalo, the visionary founder of MetroMedia Fiber Network
(since Enronized), building the new local network will
require about 25 times the time and 25 times the expense of
the long-haul network build-out. All the accounting tricks
in the world will not reduce the time or effort required.

[I did an extensive interview with Garofalo last May (with
Annie Lindstrom), and I'm still waiting for MetroMedia
Fiber Networks' permission to publish it. I'm guessing
they're too busy Enronicizing.]

Meanwhile, the SONET/ATM access networks of the local
telecom giants are clunky, complicated, expensive and
inappropriate for Internet Protocol data, but they have not
been superceded by radically cheaper *installed* technology
(except in rare cases).

There is a plausible scenario in which multihop unlicensed
wireless mesh networks will render access-a-la-ILEC
obsolete long before the local giants are killed by IP-
over-light. Multihop wireless networks have some very nice
properties that favor near-term installation, but they
don't pack as much bang per buck as fiber, and benefits are
more linearly related to costs, so a tech-related ILEC
collapse due to multihop wireless technology will be a much
slower motion affair.

Eventually fiber will be the preferred method of access.
Eventually Steve Garofalo's vision of fiber connections in
every room in the developed world will come to pass. But
it is still years away. The ILECs might not last that
long. And if they fail prematurely, before substitute
networks are rolled out, we'll *really* be in a pickle.

To repeat Precursor Watch's warning:
"Policymakers throughout the Government remain largely
oblivious to both the magnitude and economic
implications of the telecom-tech meltdown . . . "
Washington turns ugly when it is surprised. The re-
regulation following an ILEC collapse could be as panicky
and ill considered as the USA PATRIOT Act that followed the
collapse of the World Trade Towers. The Precursor gang is
noted for its insider judgments of Washington reactions.
But in this case, I'm hoping they're wrong.

David Weinberger and I have written an essay inspired by
Googin's insight that the best network is the hardest to
make money at. We call it, "The Paradox of the Best
Network." Find it at http://netparadox.com. In it we try
to outline some policy and business responses that would
paint a more optimistic future for telecom.
-------

NOT QUITE READY TO BLOG
by David S. Isenberg

I've said it before -- I'm a mid-tech kinda guy. It takes
me a while to 'get it'. I'm not interested in the geekiest
new thing. I want tools, not coding puzzles -- winner
apps, not IRQ settings -- connectivity, not NetBEUI.

The whizziest SMART People have been writing weblogs for
years. And last week I caught Blog Fever. I've got it
bad. Previously I'd been known to dip into somebody's blog
once in a while. But now I've got it, caught it, I'm swept
up in it, and I'm teetering on the edge of starting a blog
of my own.

It has been said that the Internet is proof that even
1,000,000 monkeys at keyboards *still* couldn't write a
Shakespeare play. Clearly, many blogs will play to *ahem*
limited audiences. Many contain the fascinating details of
what-I-had-for-breakfast. Others muse about show-tables
bookmarklets and plugin filesize animation loadtimes. It
takes a good writer to write a good blog.

There are lots of good writers around. Doc Searls is one
of them. Doc is a professional wordsmith. He edits Linux
Journal. I've been reading Doc's blog
http://doc.weblogs.com/ for longer than the others. His
coverage of the September 11 tragedies was more informative
than most of the media. I especially liked his coverage of
the war metaphor according to Professor George Lakoff. Doc
provides a link to Lakoff's Fairy Tale of the Just War:
"Cast of characters: A villain, a victim, and a hero. The
victim and the hero may be the same person.
The scenario: A crime is committed by the villain
against an innocent victim (typically an assault, theft,
or kidnapping). The offense occurs due to an imbalance
of power and creates a moral imbalance. The hero either
gathers helpers or decides to go it alone. The hero
makes sacrifices; he undergoes difficulties, typically
making an arduous heroic journey, sometimes across the
sea to a treacherous terrain. The villain is inherently
evil, perhaps even a monster, and thus reasoning with
him is out of the question. The hero is left with no
choice but to engage the villain in battle. The hero
defeats the villain and rescues the victim. The moral
balance is restored. Victory is achieved. The hero, who
always acts honorably, has proved his manhood and
achieved glory. The sacrifice was worthwhile. The hero
receives acclaim, along with the gratitude of the victim
and the community.

Lakoff wrote this in the early 90s, when the Villain was
the head of an identifiable country. For the whole Lakoff
essay (highly recommended!) see:
http://lists.village.virginia.edu/sixties/HTML_docs/Texts/S
cholarly/Lakoff_Gulf_Metaphor_1.html

Lately I've been reading a number of other weblogs on a
regular basis. Dan Gillmor has a great blog at
http://web.siliconvalley.com/content/sv/opinion/dgillmor/we
blog/ Dan holds down a San Jose Mercury News column, so he
knows how to cobble sentences. I'm a bit jealous that Dan
got to go to the World Economic Forum and I didn't, but he
covered it nicely -- and personally -- in his blog. Dan
points to another blog -- Lance Knobel's Davos Newbies
weblog http://www.davosnewbies.com, which, Gillmor says,
"is better than the newspaper coverage of the event." I
agree, even though Knobel is no Davos Newbie, having
attended every Davos since 1992. He's also a writer. He's
editor of the Davos magazine World Link.

David Weinberger is relatively new blogger. He's another
professional wordsmith -- not only did he co-author the
Cluetrain book, and a newly-minted book that is billed as A
Unified Theory of the Web, his e-newsletter, Journal of the
Hyperlinked Organization (JOHO) is a read-me-first when it
hits my inbox. JOHO, the Blog,
http://hyperorg.com/blogger/ can be even better; Weinberger
excels when his muse is lounging in informal conversation.

[Also see Weinberger and Isenberg's soon-to-be-famous
"Paradox of the Best Network" at http://netparadox.com]

SATN -- http://satn.org is "owned" by three people -- none
of them professional wordsmiths. They are Dan Bricklin,
Bob Frankston and David P.Reed. Bricklin and Frankston
wrote Visicalc, the first winner app for Apples. And David
P Reed is an early architect of the Stupid Network -- only
he called it "the end-to-end principle. The SATN blog is
an informative amusing collection of technology snippets,
insights, essays and experiences. SATN stands for Software
Arts Technology Notes -- telco execs may think it is
pronounced "satan" but the authors assure us it is
pronounced "satin".

Metafilter http://metafilter.com is another blog that I
find fun and useful. It calls itself a Community Weblog.
It has a lot of members, who post links along with a few
lines of comments on the front page. Other members can
comment on these postings -- these comments appear on a
secondary page. The community is remarkable self-
disciplined. It seems to be self-policing, because the
signal-to-noise ratio is quite high. Unfortunately, the
community is closed to new members, so us latecomers
perforce must lurk.

Blogs have a way of sucking you in. Most blogs point to
other blogs -- Doc Searls calls this "blogrolling". Such
blogs are often as good as the blog that sent you to them.
Doc lists about 80 -- and some are pretty good. There's a
whole new world out there. If you have not already done
so, make a folder for blog bookmarks -- and don't look
back.
-------