EDITORS: Please do not use "Pacific Gas and Electric" or "PG&E" when referring to PG&E Corporation or its National Energy Group. The PG&E National Energy Group is not the same company as Pacific Gas and Electric Company, the utility, and is not regulated by the California Public Utilities Commission. Customers of Pacific Gas and Electric Company do not have to buy products or services from the National Energy Group in order to continue to receive quality regulated services from Pacific Gas and Electric Company.

PG&E CORPORATION TO HELP BUILD NATIONAL FIBER OPTIC NETWORK

(San Francisco, CA) - PG&E Corporation today announced that it is helping to build the single largest-capacity broadband network in the United States. The corridors through which the Company’s pipelines now transport natural gas will soon also carry high-speed voice, data and other broadband traffic along routes extending from Washington State through California. The broadband connections will be part of a nationwide business platform to be built, owned and operated by Aerie Networks, a new competitor in the broadband technology industry.

Aerie's network, which will consist of more than 8.9 million fiber miles, will be the highest capacity inter-city network in the United States, and will provide bandwidth capacity to serve more than 90 percent of the U.S. business market. PG&E Corporation, along with 11 other energy and communications companies involved in the project, will own an equity share in the new company.

"The infrastructure requirements of the ‘New Economy?create enormous opportunities,?says Robert D. Glynn, Jr., PG&E Corporation Chairman, CEO, and President. "This project is an excellent example of how PG&E Corporation will capture value from these opportunities and deliver it to our shareholders."

Construction of the national network is expected to begin this summer following appropriate regulatory approvals. The energy companies will assist Aerie’s placement of the network in pipeline rights-of-way and PG&E Corporation will assist with the regulatory and permit process. The network is expected to be completed by 2003.

PG&E Corporation, with revenues of more than $20 billion and operations in 27 states, markets energy services and products throughout North America through its National Energy Group. PG&E Corporation's businesses also include Pacific Gas and Electric Company, the Northern and Central California utility that deliver natural gas and electricity to one in every 20 Americans.