Consumers New Jersey Water Company President Selected Chair of Utility Women's Leadership Conference.

Business Editors

HAMILTON, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 3, 2000

Consumers New Jersey Water Company (Consumers) announced today that Sharon Schulman, President and Chief Executive Officer, was selected chair of the Utility Women's Leadership Conference Board of Directors during their Leadership in a New Era Conference 2000.

As Chair of the Board of Directors for a term of one year, Schulman's job is to coordinate the efforts of the Board of Directors with the utility hosting the 2001 conference. The Board advises on topics and policies that will reflect current and future issues affecting members of utility boards as well as senior managers of utilities.

"It is an honor to be elected as chairperson this year," said Schulman. "This organization provides an excellent education and networking venue for women representing all the utility industries throughout the United States."

Schulman has been with Consumers since August 1995 when she joined the company as President and CEO.

Since coming, her achievements include the water industry's first economic development rates for its customers, expansion of Consumers' franchise territory by 12%, growth in revenues of 23%, operations contracts with the Borough of Allentown in Burlington County and Winslow Township in Camden County, and expansion of the Company's service offerings to include wastewater.

She also serves on the Boards of Directors for The College of New Jersey Foundation and the Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital at Hamilton Foundation.

The Utility Women's Conference was founded in 1984 and exists to educate and inform directors of investor owned utilities about current issues in the industry. It originated as a group of directors, and has broadened to include senior officers, policy makers and utility advisors in order to fully involve all industry leaders.

Consumers serves over 125,000 residents in 14 municipalities in Warren, Hunterdon, Mercer, Burlington, Monmouth, Camden and Gloucester Counties. Consumers is a subsidiary of Philadelphia Suburban Corporation (NYSE:PSC), which owns water and wastewater utilities that serve 2 million residents in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Illinois and Maine.