Customized Program Offers More Energy-Saving Options to Business Customers During Times of Peak Demand SAN FRANCISCO, Sept. 3 /PRNewswire/ -- Pacific Gas and Electric Company today announced the launch of its PeakChoice(TM) program, a new demand response program that allows business customers to customize their contribution to power reliability during times of high energy use. Demand response programs are designed to be both fiscally and environmentally responsible ways to respond to occasional and temporary spikes in energy demand. "With PeakChoice, participating business customers can lower energy usage during times when demand is highest on their terms, without sacrificing the productivity of their businesses," said Brad Whitcomb, vice president of marketing and customer innovation for PG&E. "Making demand response work for our business customers is a cost-effective way to address high electrical consumption." The PeakChoice program is designed specifically to enable large businesses to participate in demand response in a way that allows them to conserve energy without significantly impacting business operations. During demand response events, when the state is expected to encounter high electric system demand, PeakChoice customers are notified and implement the energy savings protocols they have designed specifically for their business. The program allows business customers to choose between two options when a demand response event is called: PeakChoice Committed and PeakChoice Best Effort. Customers then have many choices for customizing their demand response program options, and incentives vary based on those choices. "PG&E's PeakChoice program is a true win-win scenario for businesses and the state," said PeakChoice customer Terry Hammerwold, northern California operations manager of Manson Dutra Company JV. "With PeakChoice, Manson Dutra JV can help the state avoid power emergencies during times of peak demand, while helping us lower our energy costs by earning incentives." PG&E business customers can go online at http://www.pge.com/peakchoice to learn more about the PeakChoice program options, notice and reduction choices and to project their possible incentive payments. The PeakChoice season runs from May to October, during which PeakChoice Committed customers can receive monthly incentive payments. PeakChoice Best Effort participants earn incentives when dropping electric load during a declared PeakChoice event. Pacific Gas and Electric Company, a subsidiary of PG&E Corporation, is one of the largest combined natural gas and electric utilities in the United States. Based in San Francisco, with 20,000 employees, the company delivers some of the nation's cleanest energy to 15 million people in northern and central California. For more information, visit http://www.pge.com/. DATASOURCE: Pacific Gas and Electric Company CONTACT: PG&E News Department, +1-415-973-5930 Web site: http://www.pge.com/

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