Oracle Powers DOE Agency's Financial Management System

The Western Area Power Administration, a marketing agency under the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), will revamp its financial management system with the help of Oracle (Redwood Shores, CA). Oracle will provide a suite of client/server-based financial software and consulting services to replace the agency's current mainframe-based system. The system will help Western eliminate duplicate data entry and automate purchase orders, approvals and invoicing. Western, an $800 million regional power marketing agency, provides electricity and related services to governments, military bases, Native American tribes and other federal agencies from 47 sites in fifteen states. The new system will help Western manage its organization more effectively with its Web-enabled applications and thin client technology. The system includes Oracle's Federal Financials application suite, Oracle Discoverer and Oracle Financial Analyzer OLAP tools for decision support, and Web Application Server to Web-enable users accessing the system. "We are part of an industry that is undergoing an intense amount of deregulation" said Western's CFO Ken Maxey. The new Oracle system will allow them to keep pace with the changes, and "help us stay on the forefront of new technology."