HoustonStreet to accelerate Internet-based energy trading by adding natural gas exchange

Simplifies complex market by giving traders the information they need to buy and sell natural gas more effectively

PORTSMOUTH, NH, April 10, 2000 - HoustonStreet Exchange today announced its natural gas trading floor, building on its momentum in the B2B energy space and shoring up its position as the first fully Web-based energy exchange for trading major wholesale energy products. Many different types of energy traders will be able to access the site, HoustonStreet.com, to purchase and sell wholesale electricity, crude oil, refined products (such as jet fuel, unleaded gasoline, diesel and heating oil) and now, natural gas.

The new gas platform will allow traders to buy and sell wholesale natural gas across the country more efficiently by providing real-time access to the pricing information and industry news they need to make the best deals. HoustonStreet Exchange relied on strategic guidance from natural gas traders to design the site to meet their needs.

"We are excited about working with HoustonStreet to develop its natural gas trading platform by providing insights on traders' needs," said Mike Fiser, director of wholesale gas trading at Williams Energy Marketing and Trading. "Adding a platform for trading natural gas to its electricity and oil platforms positions HoustonStreet at the forefront of Internet-based energy trading."

HoustonStreet.com will enable traders to customize their Web page to gain a better view of the different natural gas markets. With the addition of the natural gas platform, HoustonStreet Exchange will give major energy companies dealing in multiple energy sectors one site for buying and selling cross-commodity energy products.

Simplifying a complex market
The natural gas industry encompasses different regions across the country and a plethora of trading options. Some of these variables include region, volume, date and the individual pipeline delivering the gas. Working in an unstructured online environment, a natural gas trader could become overwhelmed by the millions of possible trading combinations available. However, HoustonStreet.com will solve this problem through its natural gas platform, by allowing traders to tailor the Web page to meet their specific trading needs.

That's particularly important for both physical traders, who primarily buy and sell natural gas to meet their business needs, and financial traders, who take market risks in hopes of earning a profit. HoustonStreet Exchange has designed the site so that it caters to traders' needs by providing access to information that affects daily, monthly and yearly trading. Moreover, the site will enable users to customize their Web page to focus on the types of trades that suit them.

Putting the power in gas traders' hands
HoustonStreet.com is structured to be the first fully Web-based natural gas exchange that enables traders to analyze spread information. This shows traders how a bid in one region would play out in another region. This is a critical feature for those conducting inter-regional trades because they now have a broader view of the entire market and all of the information about different trading options they can pursue. While traders using phone brokers often don't gain immediate access to such information, HoustonStreet.com will automatically generate the numbers traders will use in real time.

"Trading natural gas can be a daunting exercise if you don't have an efficient means of corralling and sorting through the information you need to make sound business decisions. HoustonStreet will give traders that information and allows them to make the best deal from the millions of options in front of them," Kevin Sluder, HoustonStreet's vice president of corporate development said. "By launching comprehensive wholesale trading platforms for power, oil and natural gas, we will set the stage to become the premier global brand for Internet-based energy trading."

About HoustonStreet Exchange
Designed by traders for traders, HoustonStreet Exchange represents the first Web portal for the trading of wholesale energy products. HoustonStreet.com provides an online trading engine that allows traders to buy and sell their energy products faster, more efficiently and more easily than in the past. HoustonStreet Exchange is headquartered in Portsmouth, New Hampshire with offices in Houston, Texas. HoustonStreet Exchange is a majority-owned subsidiary of BayCorp Holdings, Ltd., (AMEX: MWH). For more information, visit HoustonStreet at www.houstonstreet.com.

This press release contains forward-looking statements. There are a number of important factors that could cause these forward-looking statements to be materially inaccurate. These factors include, without limitation, that (i) energy traders may be unwilling or unable to use Internet-based energy trading systems, including HoustonStreet.com, (ii) HoustonStreet.com may not be able to operate profitably, (iii) technological or systems outages could occur, (iv) competitors with greater financial, marketing or other resources could emerge, (v) performance is contingent upon successful completion of design and implementation of the crude, refined products and natural gas sites, and (vi) market acceptance of HoustonStreet.com cannot be predicted. HoustonStreet.com is a registered service mark of HoustonStreet Exchange.