Direct Energy Beats Out Over 80 Energy Suppliers to Win Top Honors as YUM! Brands Supplier of the Year

Pittsburgh, PA (9/13/2012) - Direct Energy is being honored as the UFPC YUM!Brands 2011 Energy Supplier of the Year. YUM!Brands is the world's largest retail developer with 18,050 restaurants in the US - including KFC, Taco Bell, and Pizza Hut - and 37,000 restaurants worldwide in 117 countries. Choosing Direct Energy from a pool of over 80 energy suppliers throughout the United States was no small decision on the part of YUM!Brands.

"It took many different people, departments and brands to have input into who was selected," said Marcus Fister, Director of National Energy for UFPC. "Time and time again, we receive positive feedback from our owner operators regarding Direct Energy's work and consistency. They are heads above the competition in responsiveness, character, and in understanding our business needs."

Building good working relationships and maintaining open, honest communications is key to Direct Energy's success. "Direct Energy and YUM!Brands have done business for over 10 years. Today we serve over 900 of their US locations. To say that our team is excited to receive such recognition from one of our customers would be an understatement. We look forward to another wonderful year of working with YUM!Brands as we continually strive to deliver the best possible solutions for their business' energy needs." said Vice President of North American Sales, Mike Senff.

The Supplier of the Year award has been awarded for over a decade and this is only the third year that YUM!Brands has recognized one of their energy suppliers for exceptional performance with their Supplier of the Year award. Fister went on to say, "We have come to know one thing about Direct Energy's deliverables: they are a company dedicated to continuous improvement while striving to be the best. Direct Energy is a true 'Customer Maniac.'"

About Direct Energy

Direct Energy Business is one of North America's largest commercial retail energy suppliers and a Direct Energy company. With more than 20 years of industry experience, Direct Energy Business is dedicated to helping customers make cost-effective choices for their electricity and natural gas requirements. Headquartered in Pittsburgh, PA, Direct Energy Business serves over 180,000 customers in 14 states, the District of Columbia and five Canadian provinces. Direct Energy is wholly owned by Centrica plc. (LSE:CNA,) one of the world's leading integrated energy companies. To learn more, visit www.directenergybusiness.com.

About YUM! Brands

Yum! Brands Inc., based in Louisville, Kentucky, is the world's largest restaurant company in terms of system restaurants with over 37,000 restaurants in more than 100 countries and territories. Three of the company's restaurant brands - KFC, Pizza Hut, and Taco Bell - are the global leaders of the chicken, pizza, and Mexican-style food categories respectively. Yum! Brands is the worldwide leader in multi-branding, which offers consumers more choice and convenience at one restaurant location from a combination of KFC, Taco Bell, or Pizza Hut brands. The company and its franchisees today operate over 3,300 multi-brand restaurants. Outside the United States in 2005, the Yum! Brands' system opened about three new restaurants each day of the year, making it one of the fastest growing retailers in the world. For the past three years, the company has been recognized as one of FORTUNE magazine's "Top 50 Employers for Minorities." It also has been recognized as one of the "Top 50 Employers for Women" by FORTUNE, one of the "Top 30 Best Companies for Diversity" by BLACK ENTERPRISEMagazine, one of the "Corporate 100 Companies Providing Opportunities for Hispanics" by Hispanic Magazine, one of the "Top 50 Corporations for Supplier Diversity" by HISPANIC Trends Magazine and by BusinessWeek as one of the "Top 15 Companies for In-Kind Corporate Philanthropy."

About UFPC

Unified Foodservice Purchasing Co-op, LLC (UFPC) is the exclusive supply chain management organization for Yum! Brands, Inc. UFPC manages the supply chain for all corporate- and most franchise-owned KFC, Pizza Hut and Taco Bell restaurant outlets in the United States. UFPC negotiates volume purchases of equipment, food, packaging, and other supplies from manufacturers and suppliers for purchase by operators and distributors who supply operators.

For additional information, contact:

Camille Harris
Public Relations
Camille.Harris@directenergy.com
1-412-667-5207