PG&E and the California State Parks Foundation Team Up for Earth Day Restoration Work on April 21

SAN FRANCISCO, April 16 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ — Pacific Gas and Electric Company today announced that it is granting $155,000 to the California State Parks Foundation to help fund long overdue restoration and environmental improvement projects. Additionally, more than 1,000 PG&E employees, retirees and their families will work alongside community volunteers on Earth Day, Saturday, April 21, to help clean up and restore 16 state and community parks in northern and central California.

2007 marks the sixth consecutive year the utility has partnered with the California State Parks Foundation on the Earth Day Restoration and Cleanup program. Over the past six years, PG&E has granted over $600,000 to fund vital maintenance and improvement projects at California’s parks, with over 2,700 PG&E employees contributing 10,708 volunteer hours on Earth Day.

At 16 park sites on April 21, PG&E volunteers will plant trees and shrubs, remove invasive non-native plants, clear trash and debris, and make other improvements to parks, such as installing irrigation systems. PG&E will also provide volunteers with free energy-efficient compact fluorescent light bulbs to help them reduce their carbon footprint. In 2006, nearly 900 PG&E employees and their families volunteered at a dozen parks across the state, where they planted more than 2,000 trees and plants, removed approximately 725 bags of trash and laid 25 tons of trail rock on Earth Day.

“Protecting the environment and giving back to the community are two values that are tightly woven into the fabric of PG&E’s culture, so teaming up with California State Parks Foundation for the annual park restoration and cleanup campaign is a perfect partnership,” said PG&E CEO Tom King. “We are so proud of the hundreds of energized PG&E employee volunteers who walk the environmental stewardship talk and make a powerful difference in the communities we serve.”

Community participation at parks on Earth Day is critical this year, as continued funding pressures and a backlog of more than $1.2 billion in deferred maintenance projects threaten the vitality of parks and beaches across the state. California’s 278 state parks comprise more than 1.5 million acres of land which needs to be maintained.

“PG&E’s ongoing support of the California State Parks Foundation’s Earth Day Restoration and Cleanup program has been a major factor in its success,” said Elizabeth Goldstein, President of the California State Parks Foundation. “Over the past five years, they have contributed not only financially, but through the hard work of over 2,700 employee volunteers. Their partnership has given under-funded, understaffed parks the opportunity to complete long deferred projects that otherwise would not have been possible.”

The California State Parks Foundation celebrates the 10th anniversary year of the Earth Day Restoration and Cleanup Program on April 21. Since its inception in 1998, the California State Parks Foundation Earth Day program has had tremendous impact: 54,500 participants have contributed more than 222,315 volunteer hours worth an estimated $5,042,126 in park maintenance and improvements. Including $90,000 in grants distributed this year, the Foundation has awarded more than $898,000 to state parks throughout California.

On Saturday, April 21st, volunteers are needed to join Pacific Gas and Electric Company employees, retirees and their families, and the California State Parks Foundation at the following 16 park locations:

   PARK             TIME        LOCATION             ACTIVITY   East Shore State 10am-12pm   West Frontage Road   Shoreline cleanup; non-   Park                         & University Avenue, native plant removal at   Alameda County               Berkeley             beach and trails    Bidwell Mansion  8am-12pm    525 The Esplanade in Landscaping projects   State Park                   Chico Esplanade and  around the carriage   Butte County                 Memorial Way         house and general                                                     cleanup    Millerton Lake   10am-1pm    Millerton Lake SRA   Planting native plants   State Recreation             Fort Miller          and trees. Refurbishing   Area                         Campground           campfire center and   Fresno/Madera                                     completing a nature   County                                            trail    Patrick’s Point  8:30am-1pm  Visitor Center       Removal of invasive   State Park                   parking lot off      species, plant trees,   Humboldt County              Patrick’s Point      repair trails                                Drive    Beach Park       8am-12pm    North end of park    Tree planting   Kern County                  near Cancer Survivor                                Memorial    Samuel P. Taylor 8am-1pm     Azalea Picnic Area   Vinca removal, trail   State Park                                        work, creek cleanup,   Marin County                                      non-native plant                                                     removal    Auburn State     8am-1pm     Old Foresthill       River and park cleanup,   Recreation Area              Bridge, Old          graffiti removal,   Placer County                Foresthill           installation of kiosks                                Road, off Hwy 49    Folsom Lake      8am-1pm     Negro Bar unit of    Removal of vegetation,   State Rec Area               Folsom Lake,         restoration of historic   Sacramento County            Greenback Lane at    Folsom Powerhouse After                                Folsom Auburn Road   Bay and Powerhouse                                                     Canal Trail    Golden Gate Park 9am-1pm     Speedway Meadow,     Pruning/invasive plant   San Francisco                Golden Gate Park     removal, habitat   County                                            restoration    Visitacion       9am-1pm     Campbell and         Removal of noxious   Valley                       Rutland Streets      weeds, planting native   Greenway                                          plants, mulching.   San Francisco   County    PARK             TIME        LOCATION             ACTIVITY   Caswell Memorial 8:30am-     28000 S. Austin      Repairing campfire   State Park       12:30pm     Road, Ripon          center, litter cleanup,   San Joaquin                  Day-use parking area refurbishing   County                                            interpretive panels    Montana de Oro   8:30am-1pm  Quonset Hut, Spooner Constructing ADA   State Park                   Cove day use area    pathways within   San Luis Obispo                                   the park   County    Natural Bridges  8am-2pm     2531 West Cliff      Tree planting,   State Beach                  Drive, Santa Cruz    irrigation system   San Mateo County                                  installation,                                                     habitat restoration    Half Moon Bay    9am-12pm    Francis Beach        Non-native plant   State Beach                  main parking lot,    removal, beach   San Mateo County             off Highway 1        cleanup    Annadel State    10am-2pm    Warren Richardson    Install split rail,   Park                         parking lot, 6201    curbs and interpretive   Sonoma County                Channel Drive        signage.    Elkhorn Regional 9am-12pm    Old River Road       Planting native   Park                                              grasses, removing   Yolo County                                       invasive plants,                                                     cleaning up host area   

Please join us for the 2007 Earth Day Restoration and Cleanup Program. To volunteer or for more information, please visit http://www.pge.com/ and http://www.calparks.org/.

Pacific Gas and Electric Company

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

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