Pacific Gas and Electric Company Adds More Renewable Wind Energy to Electric Mix

SAN FRANCISCO, April 27, 2005 /PRNewswire-FirstCall

Pacific Gas and Electric Company announced it has signed up an additional 158 megawatts (MW) of clean, renewable wind energy resources to help meet its customers' future electricity needs. All together, generation from these new renewable energy resources will add enough generation to supply nearly 120,000 PG&E customers.

"The addition of these wind energy resources ensures that more than thirty percent of our northern and central California customers' energy needs will come from renewable energy sources," said Fong Wan, vice president of power contracts and electric resources development. "These new resources will add to a generating portfolio that already has one of the lowest rates of air emissions in the country."

The company submitted three long term wind power purchase agreements to the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) for regulatory review. The three agreements result from PG&E's 2004 Renewables Portfolio Standard (RPS) procurement solicitation. These agreements represent another milestone for PG&E towards its goal of supplying 20% of customer needs with qualifying renewable energy under the RPS program.

PG&E has a long history of developing, generating, and purchasing renewable power. The utility currently supplies 31% of its customer load from renewable resources: 18% from its large hydroelectric facilities and 13% from smaller renewable resources that qualify under the RPS Program.

To continue to increase its renewable energy portfolio, PG&E recently filed protocols with the CPUC for its 2005 renewable energy procurement solicitation. In this upcoming solicitation for additional generation from renewable resources, the company is seeking to procure an additional 1-2 percent of its customers' electricity needs through renewable sources. The solicitation protocols require approval by the CPUC. PG&E anticipates issuing the solicitation in early summer. The 2005 RPS solicitation will be PG&E's third competitive solicitation for renewable energy since 2002. Since then, it has entered into contracts for 368 MW of renewable power from wind, geothermal, biomass, and hydro resources, including the three agreements being submitted today to the CPUC.

California's RPS Program requires each utility to increase its procurement of eligible renewable generating resources by 1% of load per year to achieve a 20% renewables goal. The RPS Program was passed by the Legislature and is managed by California's Public Utilities Commission and Energy Commission.

For more information about Pacific Gas and Electric Company, please visit the company's web site at www.pge.com .

SOURCE Pacific Gas and Electric Company

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