7.11.2001 ET

(CSRwire) Pacific Gas and Electric Company issued the following statement, regarding its on-going efforts to achieve additional conservation through reducing voltage levels on its distribution circuits:

"Pacific Gas and Electric Company has helped pioneer research in the area of energy conservation through voltage reduction, and continues to do so. In the early 1980s, the company worked with regulators, engineers, scientists, and other utilities, to determine the safest and most reliable levels of voltage delivery that can be achieved in real-world conditions.

"Pacific Gas and Electric Company has already employed much of that research in the field, on many of its circuits, and its customers have been reaping the benefits for years. In most cases, the utility's electric distribution system is already operating at the lowest voltages possible consistent with existing regulations.

"Recently, the company undertook a new round of research to update its earlier work, and again demonstrated that voltage reduction, if carefully employed, can be an effective way to achieve conservation, with little impact on reliability or safety. This latest round of research was done in cooperation with the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC), the California Energy Commission, scientists and engineers, and other utilities.

"Yesterday, in response to a request for comment by the CPUC, the company provided an up-to-date assessment of its research findings, in which it reiterated its willingness to attempt to achieve additional conservation through voltage reduction. The comments repeated the consistent finding that implementation of any additional voltage reduction - beyond what the utility already has done -must be done manually on circuits throughout Northern and Central California, and could take as long as three months to complete. If these changes are not made carefully and systematically, there could be the risk of damage to consumer electronics and appliances. As it has consistently stated, the utility will not make any change to its system that could threaten safety or reliability, or which would reduce voltage below the minimum requirements included in current CPUC regulations.

"Nothing in these comments run contrary to the position the company has held throughout this process, and has shared fully with regulators and experts. Any suggestion to the contrary is uninformed and inaccurate.

"The bottom line, as clearly indicated in its comments, is that Pacific Gas and Electric Company is ready and willing to immediately implement the voltage reductions proposed in the CPUC's proposed ruling, consistent with the present voltage regulations.

"For the past 25 years, Pacific Gas and Electric Company has been a leader in promoting energy efficiency, and has been very active in highlighting the need for conservation since the energy crisis began last summer."

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