Charles River Associates Analysts Contribute to Achievement of Milestone in Major California Electricity Pricing Study; CPUC and CEC Approve Pilot Design.

Business Editors

BOSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 4, 2003

Charles River Associates Incorporated (Nasdaq: CRAI), an internationally known leader in providing economic, financial, and management consulting services, today announced that both the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) and the California Energy Commission (CEC) have approved a landmark pilot study developed by a working group comprising the three major investor-owned electric utilities in California, senior CRA Energy & Environment consultants, regulatory staff, and third-party stakeholders to test the impacts of a variety of new dynamic pricing options for residential and small commercial electricity customers in the state of California. The pilot study will be implemented by Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E), Southern California Edison (SCE), and San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E).

Known as the Statewide Pricing Pilot (SPP), this program has the following objectives: 1) to estimate customer demand for electric power by time-of-use period; 2) to gather information on customer acceptance of dynamic tariffs (including time-of-use rates and critical pricing rates), control technologies, and information treatments; 3) to forecast the economic impacts of a full-scale rollout of a dynamic pricing regime; and 4) to provide input to a cost/benefit analysis of deploying advanced metering technology statewide.

Involving a test group of approximately 2,600 residential and small commercial customers, SPP will be implemented on July 1, 2003, and will run through December 31, 2004. Testing time-varying electricity rates against a backdrop of an inverted five-tier rate structure, the pilot program will apply an integrated sample design across the three utility service areas (PG&E, SCE, and SDG&E). The project will estimate customer responsiveness to time-varying prices, and will assess how this responsiveness varies according to weather conditions and customer sociodemographic factors such as appliance ownership. Conceived primarily as a large-scale social experiment, SPP should result in findings that can be extrapolated to other populations in other settings.

James C. Burrows, President and CEO of Charles River Associates, said, "CRA energy analysts have been at the forefront in projecting energy supplies, consumer demand, and the effects of various pricing regimes for nearly 40 years. Our team's insightful work in experimental design and econometric analysis will help ensure the success of the SPP for the long-run benefit of both consumers and suppliers of electric power in the state of California."

About CRA

Founded in 1965, Charles River Associates is an economics, finance, and business consulting firm that works with businesses, law firms, accounting firms, and governments in providing a wide range of services. CRA combines economic and financial analysis with expertise in litigation and regulation support, business strategy and planning, market and demand forecasting, policy analysis, and engineering and technology management. CRA is distinguished by a corporate philosophy of providing responsive, top-quality consulting; an interdisciplinary team approach; unsurpassed economic, financial, and other analytic skills; and pragmatic business insights. In addition to its corporate headquarters in Boston and international offices in Brussels, Dubai, London, Melbourne, Mexico City, Toronto, and Wellington, CRA also has U.S. offices in College Station, Houston, Los Angeles, Oakland, Palo Alto, Philadelphia, Salt Lake City, and Washington, D.C. More information about the Company can be found on its Web site at www.crai.com.

Statements in this press release concerning the benefits expected to accrue from the participation of Charles River Associates in California's Statewide Pricing Pilot (SPP) study are "forward-looking" statements as defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such statements are based on management's current expectations and are subject to a number of factors and uncertainties. Information contained in these forward-looking statements is inherently uncertain, and actual performance and results may differ materially. Such factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from any forward-looking statements made by the Company include, among others, acquisition costs, dependence on key personnel, attracting and retaining qualified consultants, dependence on outside experts, intense competition, and professional liability. Further information on factors that could affect the Company's financial results is included in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.