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 RECEIVES COURT APPROVAL OF FIRST-DAY MOTIONS

Utility Granted Authority to Pay Employee Compensation and Benefits and to Use Certain Bank Accounts and Cash Management Systems

San Francisco, CA -- Pacific Gas and Electric Company, the utility unit of PG&E Corporation (NYSE: PCG), today announced that it has received approval from the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of California, of various first-day motions.

The court has granted Pacific Gas and Electric the authority to pay pre-petition employee compensation and benefits, and it has authorized continued use of its bank accounts, the utility's cash management system and corporate investment policy, enabling Pacific Gas and Electric Company to fulfill post-petition obligations to suppliers and other creditors without disruption.

The orders position Pacific Gas and Electric to continue normal business operations, as it moves through the reorganization process. Pacific Gas and Electric Company is fully committed to continue to provide safe and reliable utility transmission and distribution service.