CAISO Says Energy Resources are in Tight Demand; Conservation Urged in California.

News Editors/Energy Writers

SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 28, 2001

The California Independent System Operator (CAISO) and Pacific Gas and Electric Company urge customers to conserve energy today to help the state avoid declaring a more serious shortage emergency.

Conservation is needed because the state's energy supply is limited by a number of power plants in California shut down for planned and unplanned maintenance (a loss of more than 10,000 megawatts), and some out-of-state generation plants taken off-line. The combination of the loss of generation from the Northwest and the reduction in production in California has forced the CAISO to declare a Stage 2 Emergency for most of today.

For 32 consecutive days earlier this year, California was in Stage 3 emergencies due to lack of energy resources. For the past few days, the CAISO has not had to declare any power emergencies, but today's announcement is a serious reminder of just how tight the supply of electricity is in the entire Western United States.

To help the state meet electricity demands, Pacific Gas and Electric Company is asking its customers to conserve energy both at home and in the office. Following are some ways customers can reduce electric demand immediately:

-- Turn down the thermostat. Set the temperature at 68 degrees or cooler when
the house or office is occupied and, health permitting, 55 degrees or off at
night and when you're not at home.

-- Avoid using major appliances this afternoon and early evening, if possible.
If you must, do only full loads when using your dishwasher and clothes washer.
Use the cold water setting whenever possible, and select the air-dry setting,
rather than heat-dry setting on your dishwasher, if you can.

-- Turn off PCs, monitors, printers, and copiers when not in use or not needed.
If you can, simply turn off the power strip after shutting down your computer
and peripherals. If you cannot turn off the whole computer, turn off the
monitor and the printer.

-- Unplug energy leaking electronic equipment. Many new electronic devices
(TVs, VCRs, computer peripherals, etc.) use electricity even when turned off.
If possible, unplug electronic devices with block-shaped transformers on the
plug when not in use.

-- Turn off lights in unoccupied rooms. Turn off unnecessary and decorative
lighting around your home and office.

-- Cook in your toaster oven, microwave or broiler oven. They use half the
energy of a regular oven.

-- Turn down the temperature on your water heater to the "warm" setting or
about 120 degrees, and avoid wasting hot water.

For more energy saving tips, please contact the Smarter Energy Line at 1-800-933-9555.

For more information about Pacific Gas and Electric Company, please visit our web site at http://www.pge.com.