Californians Urged to Conserve in Early Heat Wave.

News & Business Editors

SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 8, 2001

The second day of above-average temperatures brings renewed calls for conservation from the California Independent System Operator (CAISO) and Pacific Gas and Electric Company. With tight electricity supplies forecast for much of today, Californians are urged to conserve energy to help the state meet its electricity demands, and avoid the need for power emergencies, including rotating block outages.

Yesterday, the CAISO ordered statewide rotating outages due to a deficiency of electric supply and increasing electric demand on the system. In northern and central California, about 54,000 PG&E customers in Block 14 were part of rolling block outages that began at 4:45 p.m. and ended at about 6:00 p.m.

If the CAISO were to order implementation of the rotating outage plan today, outages would begin with the remainder of customers in Block 14, and then move to Block 1. Customers in Block 1 were last affected by rotating outages on June 14, 2000.

Pacific Gas and Electric Company's Electric Emergency Plan has 14 outage blocks that each serve about 200,000 customers. In addition, customers who provide essential public health, safety, and security services -- and do not have adequate backup generation -- are exempted from outages and placed on Block 50.

With the warmer weather, electricity demand goes up primarily because of increased air conditioning use. The increased demand, along with limited imports and more than 12,100 megawatts of generation off-line for scheduled and unscheduled maintenance, have combined to force the CAISO to declare a Stage 1 emergency already today.

In March, Pacific Gas and Electric Company launched a customer education campaign entitled "The More You Know About Conserving Energy, The Less Energy You Need," designed to make customers aware of the urgent need for energy conservation and provide tools to help consumers reduce their overall energy usage. The campaign includes rebates on a variety of consumer items, as well as use of the Internet, direct customer outreach and paid advertising.

To help the state meet its 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:

-- Set your home or business thermostat at 78 degrees or higher when you're
there. When you are away, set your thermostat at 85 degrees. Clean your air
conditioner filter regularly, inspect filters monthly. Provide shading for your
air conditioner.

-- Close drapes/window blinds on windows facing south or west, to keep your
home or business cooler during the day.

-- Avoid using major appliances until late this 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.

For more energy saving tips, please visit our website at www.pge.com/123 or contact the Smarter Energy Line at 1-800/933-9555.