Pacific Gas and Electric Company Honors Employees for Environmental Leadership

Energy Efficiency Champion, Earth Day 
Volunteerism Efforts Earn Top Honors

SAN FRANCISCO, CA (10/27/05) -- Pacific Gas and Electric Company announced the winners of the utility's Richard A. Clarke Annual Environmental Leadership Awards, which honors examples of environmental leadership among the company's 20,000 employees. The award program honors both an individual and a team effort.

Winning the award for individual effort was Gary Fernstrom, a senior customer energy efficiency project manager. Fernstrom was honored for his role in creating and leading PG&E's Energy Efficiency Codes and Standards Enhancement program over the past six years. The goal of this program is to include energy efficiency measures in state codes for buildings and appliances. Adoption of PG&E-promoted code enhancements -- covering, for example, air conditioners, heat pumps and light-emitting diode traffic signals -- help reduce peak demand growth, emissions and customer bills.

Receiving the Clarke Award for best group effort was the Earth Day team, an ad hoc team of ten employees from several parts of the company, who came together to plan and execute the most popular employee volunteer event in recent memory, Earth Day 2004. In partnership with California State Parks Foundation, the event took place simultaneously at nine state parks throughout PG&E's service territory and drew at least 400 PG&E volunteers.

The Earth Day team worked collaboratively with State Parks Foundation as the major sponsor for the state's 2004 Earth Day event. The team's efforts included coordination of company volunteers, planning logistics for each park event, creating the media outreach program and even production of an Earth Day radio ad using the voices of PG&E employees.

Pacific Gas and Electric Company makes a $5,000 charitable donation on behalf of the individual and team Clarke Award winners, to the nonprofit environmental organization of their choice. Fernstrom has selected American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE) to receive $5,000; the Earth Day Team has chosen to devote the funds to the California State Parks Foundation.

"These awards celebrate PG&E employees who embrace environmental stewardship in their work. Each year, we learn about the remarkable ways employees demonstrate their commitment to the environment. These efforts are excellent examples of environmental successes that we can build upon in our work and in our communities where we live and serve," said Bob Harris, PG&E's vice president of environmental affairs

Pacific Gas and Electric Company developed the Richard A. Clarke Annual Environmental Leadership Award in 2002 to honor those employees who demonstrate a commitment to, and accomplishment in the environmental arena. The award is named after the late Richard A. Clarke, Chairman and CEO of Pacific Gas and Electric Company from 1986 until his retirement in 1995. Clarke championed a variety of environmental initiatives at PG&E -- from energy conservation to clean air programs to natural resource stewardship.

For more information about Pacific Gas and Electric Company's commitment to the environment, please visit www.pge.com/environment.