Five West Monroe Partners Energy & Utilities Clients Receive ARRA Grants

Consultancy Supported Applicants from Vision to Grant Application.

CHICAGO, Nov. 3 /PRNewswire/ -- West Monroe Partners, a full-service business
and technology consultancy, today announced that five of the seven utilities
for which it provided comprehensive Smart Grid Investment Grant application
support have been awarded federal funding to pursue their proposed
initiatives.

With a success rate of over 70 percent, compared to the average grant
acceptance rate of 23 percent, West Monroe Partners is pleased to see that
many of its clients will be able to accelerate deployment of smart grid
solutions with the help of these awards. The funding is part of $3.4 billion
in Smart Grid Investment Grant awards announced by President Obama on behalf
of the United States Department of Energy on October 27, 2009, in conjunction
with the American Recovery & Reinvestment Act (ARRA).

West Monroe Partners worked with each of the utilities from project
development through grant application, applying its rigorous S-GAP (Smart Grid
Assessment Profile) approach--an iterative process that tunes the smart grid
solution and implementation plan to meet a utility's objectives and maximize
its business case. West Monroe Partners used this approach to help each
utility develop a compelling smart grid vision, business case, and project
implementation plan prior to completing the grant application. Ultimately
these grants will benefit the utilities' customers, who will gain the
reliability and flexibility that come with a 'smarter' grid.

"Our S-GAP approach delivers an optimal smart grid plan with full stakeholder
engagement that meets the utility's objectives and maximizes its business
case. We are pleased that the Department of Energy also found our clients'
projects to be compelling," said Tom Hulsebosch, managing director of West
Monroe Partners' Energy & Utilities practice. "Not only are the Smart Grid
Investment Grants a great success for the companies that receive them; they
provide a solid economic boost for service companies like West Monroe Partners
that will assist the utilities in deploying these smart grid projects. We look
forward to supporting utilities by leveraging our experience in the areas of
program management, strategy, vendor procurement, cyber security, system
architecture, and system integration, and by helping them execute the
mandatory quarterly reporting to the Department of Energy."

Overall, the Department of Energy awarded 100 Smart Grid Investment Grants to
private companies, utilities, manufacturers, municipalities, and universities.

About West Monroe Partners

West Monroe Partners is a full-service provider of business and technology
solutions with offices in Chicago, Columbus, Dallas, Montreal, New York,
Seattle, and Toronto. Our more than 200 consulting professionals partner with
clients across a range of industries, harnessing our collective experience to
produce better business results. Named one of Consulting Magazine's "Small
Jewels" and one of its 2007 "Best Firms to Work For," West Monroe Partners
offers a refreshing, flexible approach tailored to our clients' priorities,
budgets, capabilities, and environment. Visit our website at
www.westmonroepartners.com.

Contact:
Michelle Ryckman
mryckman@westmonroepartners.com
312-602-4000

SOURCE West Monroe Partners

Michelle Ryckman of West Monroe Partners, +1-312-602-4000,
mryckman@westmonroepartners.com