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Pacific Gas and Electric Company Delivers New Renewable Wind Energy to California Electricity Customers

Posted on: Thursday, 13 April 2006, 15:00 CDT

SAN FRANCISCO, April 13 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Pacific Gas and Electric Company this week began delivering 75 megawatts of clean, renewable wind energy resources to electricity customers from PPM Energy's Shiloh I Wind Project, LLC. The Shiloh project, located in Solano County, is the first newly constructed renewable energy facility to begin delivering electricity to PG&E customers under California's Renewables Portfolio Standards (RPS) Program.

"The Shiloh project represents the first clean, renewable energy deliveries for customers under the new program and adds to a PG&E supply portfolio that already has one of the lowest rates of air emissions in the country," said Fong Wan, vice president of energy procurement. "It is an important first step as we accelerate our reliance on renewable power toward the goal of 20 percent by 2010."

PG&E has a long history of developing, generating, and purchasing renewable power. The utility currently supplies 30% of its customer load from renewable resources: 18% from its large hydroelectric facilities and 12% from small hydro and other renewable resources that qualify under California's Renewables Portfolio Standards (RPS) Program. Including Diablo Canyon Power Plant, about 50% of PG&E's retail load is served from generating resources that have no CO2 emissions that contribute to global warming.

To continue to increase its renewable energy portfolio, PG&E plans to issue its fourth competitive solicitation seeking renewable power later this spring. In this upcoming solicitation for additional renewable resources, the company is seeking to procure an additional 1-2 percent of its customers' electricity needs through qualified renewable sources.

Since PG&E began its RPS Program, it has entered into contracts for 563 MW of renewable energy -- wind, geothermal, biomass and hydro resources -- enough power to serve about 425,000 customers. California's RPS Program requires each investor-owned utility to increase its procurement of eligible renewable generating resources by 1% of load per year to achieve a 20% renewables goal. The RPS Program was passed by the Legislature and is managed by California's Public Utilities Commission and Energy Commission.

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

Pacific Gas and Electric Company

CONTACT: PG&E News Department, +1-415-973-5930

Web site: http://www.pge.com/

Source: PRNewswire-FirstCall

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