IrkutskEnergo - company profile

IRKUTSKENERGO AO

Address: SUHE-BATORA 3 IRKUTSK 664000 RUSSIAN FEDERATION Country: Russian Federation Phone: +7 3952 288300 Fax: +7 3952 288899 Employees: 24401 Management: V.M. BOROVSKY GENERAL DIRECTOR AND CHAIRMAN, BOARD OF DIRECTORS G.M. TOLSTYH CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER Industry class: UTILITIES Industry group: Electric Power Companies Product lines: CONSUMER SERVICES

Description of business Irkutskenergo AO is the second largest Russian power generating company. The company generates 70% of its electricity through hydroelectric plants at the Baikal lake and 30% through thirteen coal-fired thermal plants, also producing long distance heat supply. Because of its hydro power plants, Irkutsenergo is the lowest cost electricity producer in Russia. Irkutskenergo distributes its electricity through its own high-voltage grid to 325,000 customers in the Irkutsk area. In the year under review, the company increased its electricity production by 3.7%. The company exports their electrical energy to Mongolia. Irkutskenergo has only domestic subsidiaries. Heat energy accounted for 50% of 1996 Revenues; electrical energy and similiar income, 40% and other product and service, 10%.

Financials 31 Dec 96 RUR '000 31 Dec 95 RUR '000 Total revenue 4,604,722.00 3,340,395.00 Net income 854,828.00 405,916.00 Total assets 20,646,343.00 9,951,080.00 Total liabilities 3,004,356.00 1,539,324.00 Ratios 31 Dec 96 31 Dec 95 Profit margin % 21.37 12.96 Return on equity % 10.16 - Debt/equity % 0.30 0.38 Turnover/assets 0.22 0.34

Source: Worldscope / Extel Database

FORE SYSTEMS' MULTISERVICE NETWORK INFRASTRUCTURE AT THE CORE OF SIBERIAN POWER INDUSTRY PROJECT

High Performance Solution Solves Telecommunications Challenges; Expected to Spur Regional Economic Development

PITTSBURGH, June 15 /PRNewswire/ -- Lack of a reliable telecommunications infrastructure has hindered economic development in the resource-rich Siberian province of Irkutsk -- until now. Irkutskenergo, a leading electric utility in eastern Siberia, is vaulting its communications network into the 21st Century with the assistance of high-performance technology and products from FORE Systems, Inc. (Nasdaq: FORE), a leading global supplier for service providers building the new public network infrastructure.

Irkutskenergo is in the midst of a bold initiative that utilizes an asynchronous transfer mode (ATM) network from FORE Systems to link power plants, maintenance stations, offices and other operations in 25 cities and towns via a wide area network (WAN) spanning approximately one thousand miles. The new network will be used to support voice, video and data traffic, along with telemetry and control information for the company's power grid.

"Irkutsk is a region with vast economic potential, but it lacks the telecommunications infrastructure necessary to develop it," noted Sergei M. Glushkov, Chief of Technology Management Systems at Irkutskenergo. "Our solution from FORE provides the manageable infrastructure we need to support our applications, and eliminates the requirement for separate networks to support each type of traffic."

About the Irkutskenergo Network

The Irkutskenergo network utilizes ForeRunner(R) ASX(TM)-1000 and ASX-200BX ATM switches at each location, which are linked together by redundant, load-sharing OC-12 (622Mbps) fiber optic cables. FORE's unique traffic shaping features allow Irkutskenergo to manage bandwidth allocation among applications, while ATM Forum-compliant PNNI (private network-to-network interface) provides real-time automatic re-routing around link or node outages. FORE's circuit emulation features support PBX voice traffic over the network for the company and will be used to handle public long distance traffic. Users at each location will also be connected to the network via FORE's ES-3810 local area network (LAN) switches for a variety of data applications.

Equally important, Glushkov notes, the network's high-volume capacity and Quality of Service (QoS) features will allow the company to carve out bandwidth for local governments and other companies in the region once the network is complete. This will offer a variety of telecommunications services to area government and business that are essential for regional economic development.

"Along with linking Irkutskenergo's facilities we can support the needs of other organizations," Glushkov says. "This project will positively impact the entire state of Irkutsk."

"FORE Systems has always recognized the value of ATM in creating cost- effective, reliable wide area networks", said Jonathan Gohstand, Territory Manager, FORE Systems Russia. "The Irkutskenergo project demonstrates just how quickly developing regions can modernize their infrastructure by partnering with FORE, and we expect the project will benefit not just Irkutskenergo's bottom line, but the regional economy as a whole."

About FORE Systems

FORE Systems is a leading global supplier of high-performance networking solutions. FORE's Networks of Steel(TM) deliver the increased capacity, resiliency and scalability necessary to build networks that last. Thousands of enterprise and service provider customers worldwide have put FORE Systems' solutions at the heart of their networks.

For more information on FORE's Networks of Steel, call 888-404-0444 or visit the FORE Systems web site at http://www.fore.com.

This press release contains forward-looking statements with respect to products, partners, customers, future growth and other matters. Please refer to the Annual Report on Form 10-K filed by FORE Systems with the Securities and Exchange Commission in June, 1998, and the Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q filed by FORE Systems in August, 1998, November, 1998, and February, 1999, for a discussion of risks that could cause actual results to differ materially from such statements.

All FORE Systems' editorial information and graphics can be found on PR Newswire's NEWSdesk, the high-tech Internet Network at: http://www.newsdesk.com.

FORE Systems and ForeRunner are registered trademarks of FORE Systems, Inc. ASX and Networks of Steel are trademarks of FORE Systems, Inc. All other brand or product names are trademarks of their respective holders.

For more information, contact Jim Blew, Public Relations of FORE Systems, 724-742-7745, or fax, 724-742-7742, or Email, jblew@fore.com

/CONTACT: Jim Blew, Public Relations of FORE Systems, 724-742-7745, or fax, 724-742-7742, or Email, jblew@fore.com/ 15:14 EDT

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