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.

PACIFIC GAS AND ELECTRIC COMPANY EXTENDS OPEN SEASON ON NATURAL GAS TRANSMISSION PIPELINE

Pacific Gas and Electric Company announced today it is extending the close of the California Gas Transmission open season to 5 p.m. (Pacific Time) August 31, 2001. Pacific Gas and Electric Company's open season was originally scheduled to close on July 31.

The utility's open season offers 1.5 billion cubic feet/day of backbone gas transmission capacity starting January 2003. Open season capacity includes a proposed 200 million cubic feet/day Redwood path expansion from Malin, Oregon.

For more information about Pacific Gas and Electric Company's open season visit www.pge.com/pipeline.