An international utility industry group has named Arizona Public Service (APS) and its parent company Pinnacle West Capital Corp. as one of the top two communicators in the world among electricity, gas and water providers.

Utility Communicators International (UCI) honored APS/Pinnacle West with the awards last month at the group’s 79th annual conference held in  San Diego. UCI is a trade organization comprised of marketing and communication personnel from the utility industry. Currently, the organization has more than 300 members in the United States, Canada, the Caribbean, the United Kingdom and Mexico.

In addition to its top two ranking for the international Industry Communicator of the Year, APS/Pinnacle West received numerous awards in the 2003 UCI competition, including:

• First Place in the Employee Communications category;
• First Place in the Annual Report category, an award the Company garnered for the third consecutive year;
• First Place in the Newspaper Ad Series category for the Company’s "Simple Things" campaign;
• Second place in the Single Magazine Ad category for the "Simple Things" ad;
• Second place in the Internet Site category for pinnaclewest.com; and
• Third place in the Television Ad category for the "Simple Things," ads, which feature images of everyday electrical appliances backed by immediately recognizable pop songs.

"These awards reflect the mindset of open dialogue that we have with our customers, investors and employees," said Edward Z. Fox, Vice President of Communications, Environment and Safety for APS and Pinnacle West. "Paired with a recent J.D. Power and Associates study ranking APS as a top electric utility for customer satisfaction, it’s clear that a proactive communications program impacts the bottom line."

The Utility Communicators International Awards are presented annually in 18 categories, including print, broadcast, outdoor, Internet, collateral, public relations, annual report, sponsorships and internal communications. Entries were accepted from UCI members, non-members, communication firms and marketing agencies.

APS Wins National Television Advertising and Web Site Awards

In addition to the UCI awards, APS was honored at the 24th Annual Telly Awards, a national advertising competition. The Company received recognition for the "Simple Things" television commercial series, which included "Nightlight," "Lava Lamp" and "Blender." The Telly Awards are among the most sought after awards in the television, commercial and video industry.

APS also received recognition at the Web Marketing Association Internet Advertising Competition Awards, where the company was awarded Best Newsletter E-mail Campaign. The Web Marketing Association Advertising Award is the premier event where Web-award entries are submitted by interactive agencies, web site owners, and in-house marketing and e-commerce departments from more than 19 countries worldwide.

APS, Arizona’s largest and longest-serving electricity utility, serves more than 902,000 customers in 11 of the state’s 15 counties. With headquarters in Phoenix, APS is the largest subsidiary of Pinnacle West Capital Corp. (NYSE: PNW).

August 2003

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