Search - Finance Home - Yahoo! - Help

[ Latest Headlines | Market Overview | News Alerts | More Business Wire ]

Press Release

Harrah's Entertainment Inc. Selects Mobius Risk Group To Help Deliver Energy Efficiency Savings

HOUSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 7, 2002--Mobius Risk Group LLC, a leading provider of energy risk management outsourcing and advisory services, has signed an energy advisory agreement with Harrah's Entertainment Inc. (NYSE:HET - news).

Under this agreement, Mobius will evaluate energy consumption patterns at Harrah's 25 properties nationwide, identify energy project savings opportunities, develop an energy investment program and manage the design, installation and commissioning of energy efficiency projects.

"Harrah's is committed to managing its energy costs by reducing energy consumption," said Chuck Atwood, Harrah's Entertainment senior vice president and chief financial officer. "Mobius and Harrah's have developed an energy-management strategy designed to maximize capital returns and improve the customer experience across our entire portfolio of properties. We expect to gain significant insight from Mobius' experience and guidance."

Ken Rubeli, Mobius Risk Group's senior vice president and lead risk officer, added: "While energy participants in Nevada grapple through the regulatory uncertainty of who should pay what for energy, it's refreshing to see a market leader like Harrah's make an aggressive push to tackle the matter themselves by developing a corporate program to reduce energy consumption.

"Not only is Harrah's lowering the impact of energy price risk by reducing consumption, they're also obtaining attractive returns on invested capital. The reality is a professionally managed energy investment program has the potential to outperform many alternative investments," Rubeli said.

For fiscal year 2001, Harrah's spent approximately $50 million purchasing electricity and natural gas for its 25 casinos. Harrah's and Mobius are developing more than a dozen energy efficiency projects and have identified 50 additional projects that will be evaluated in 2002.

About Harrah's Entertainment

Founded more than 60 years ago, Harrah's Entertainment Inc. operates 25 casinos in the United States, primarily under the Harrah's brand name. Harrah's Entertainment is focused on building loyalty and value with its target customers through a unique combination of great service, excellent products, unsurpassed distribution, operational excellence and technology leadership.

More information about Harrah's Entertainment is available on the company's Web site at http://www.harrahs.com/.

About Mobius Risk Group

Formed in January 2002 by former Enron employees, Mobius Risk Group provides enterprise wide energy risk management, outsourcing and advisory services to the commercial, industrial and petrochemical industries. Mobius brings its breadth and depth of risk, energy, utility representation and project efficiency to bear on its clients' energy needs in an advisory capacity. Mobius' unique services are in acting completely as a representative of the client and not as a supplier, vendor, broker or "middle man."

The company is comprised of a management team with 85 years of combined energy and risk management experience who have established and managed major energy and commodity trading, structuring and marketing departments.

For more information on Mobius Risk Group, please visit http://www.mobiusriskgroup.com/.

     The Padgett Group, Houston
     Kim Padgett, 713/410-5227
     Kim@ThePadgettGroup.com
     or
     Mobius Risk Group
     Ken Rubeli, 713/877-0404
     krubeli@mobiusriskgroup.com
     or
     Harrah's Entertainment
     Gary Thompson, 702/407-6529