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.

CHAPTER 11 UPDATE: PACIFIC GAS AND ELECTRIC COMPANY ISSUES STATEMENT ON CPUC'S ACTION IN THE BANKRUPTCY CASE

SAN FRANCISCO - Pacific Gas and Electric Company today issued the following statement after the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) filed a motion in Bankruptcy Court objecting to the extension of the utility's exclusivity period and announced sparse elements of an alternative plan:

"The CPUC announcement today is simply the latest in a series efforts to delay PG&E's emergence from bankruptcy. The CPUC, whose actions and inactions were a major cause of the state's energy crisis and PG&E's bankruptcy, has tried to obstruct our efforts to resolve the case.

"PG&E has developed a plan of reorganization that resolves all creditor claims, does not ask the Bankruptcy Court to raise rates, protects customers from rate volatility and provides a path for the state to get out of the energy business. Our plan is supported by the Official Creditors' Committee and has been developed in record time, notable achievements in a bankruptcy of this size.

"The elements outlined today by the CPUC do not appear to provide these benefits. We will be asking the Bankruptcy Court to deny the CPUC's request."