Cooler Temperatures Serve as a Reminder to Continue Conserving Natural Gas to Earn Rebate

SAN FRANCISCO, Feb. 16 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Pacific Gas and Electric Company's 10/20 Winter Gas Savings Program is at the half- way mark and early results show that more than 60 percent of eligible residential and small business customers have reduced natural gas usage by at least 10 percent during the month of January.

Pacific Gas and Electric Company's 10/20 Winter Gas Savings Program encourages residential and small business customers to reduce their natural gas usage by at least 10 percent during the months of January, February and March over the same months last year. Those customers who successfully reduce their total gas usage over this period will earn a 20 percent rebate on their gas charges for all three months.

During the month of January, 2.5 million customers representing 61 percent of eligible residential and small business customers reduced their gas usage by nearly 33 percent as compared to last January. A residential customer achieving this level of conservation over the winter is on track to receive an average rebate of $50 at the end of the program. Along the way, they will have also likely saved an average of $75 from reducing their gas usage.

There are approximately 4 million residential and small commercial customers that use natural gas. The only criteria for the program-which requires no sign-up-is a customer must be at their current location (home or business) for 12 months, so that last year's usage can be compared. PG&E also recognizes that a number of customers may not qualify for the 10/20 Winter Gas Savings Program simply because of ongoing conservation efforts over the years. PG&E would like to thank these customers for their efforts.

PG&E, along with The Utility Reform Network, proposed the 10/20 Winter Gas Savings Program to the California Public Utilities Commission last November as part of its overall winter effort to help its customers manage bills in the face of rising natural gas costs.

"As the nation was entering a season of uncertainty surrounding higher gas prices, PG&E wanted to help protect customers from projected higher prices by offering a first-of-its-kind program for our residential and small business customers," said Tom Bottorff, PG&E's senior vice president of regulatory relations. "It's rewarding to see customers taking action to lower their usage and be on track to earn the rebate."

Warmer temperatures so far this winter have helped our customers reduce their gas usage. Nonetheless, even after factoring the impact of the milder temperatures, PG&E's residential customers have still, on average, reduced natural gas usage by nearly 11 percent for the months of November, December and January because of conservation efforts.

However, colder temperatures have hit northern and central California this week, serving as a reminder that customers need to continue to conserve through the end of March. (To continue to qualify for the program, customers should continue conserving until they receive their April bill, because meters are not all read on the first of the month). Even after the program ends, natural gas prices are still expected to remain historically high which means customers should always continue to conserve both gas and electricity.

Customers can login to PG&E's online services to track their 10/ 20 rebate program conservation efforts. They will see a customized report with their latest target and actual reduction amounts through each of the program months.

Additionally, there are several other free online tools to help reduce usage.

* Tips/Tools to Save Energy: Receive a customized report on the top

ways to save

* Bill Comparison: Find out how local weather, billing days and other

factors affect your bills

* Usage History: Track 24 months of energy usage and costs, plus easy-

to-read graphs

* PG&E rebates and energy efficiency: Information on current products

and services available for residential and business customers

To access these online services, and also find out about PG&E's time- saving e-Bills paperless online billing and payment service, visit www.pge.com and sign up for the free service. Residential customers can also call PG&E's Smarter Energy Line at 1-800-933- 9555 to find out ways to reduce energy usage. Small business customers can call PG&E's Business Customer Service Center at 1-800- 468-4743.

For More Information on Energy Savings Programs Visit www.pge.com SOURCE Pacific Gas and Electric Company