Expanded Payment Centers Offered to Utility Customers

Business Wire, Sept 22, 1998

SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 22, 1998--Pacific Gas and Electric Company announced today the addition of more businesses and stores to its customer pay station network.

By the end of 1998, the company expects to have more than 500 customer payment centers throughout PG&E's 70,000 square-mile service territory, up 17 percent from January 1998.

"We are always exploring for new ways to make transactions more convenient for our customers," said Russ Jorgensen, manager at PG&E. "Conveniently located customer payment centers are an integral part of our customer payment program."

PG&E Pay Stations allow customers to make their energy payments at a variety of business locations in their community. Pay stations are located at shopping centers, supermarkets, pharmacies and other businesses throughout Northern and Central California. For information on the nearest payment center or other payment services please call PG&E's Customer Service Department at 800/743-5000.

In addition to the new payment centers, PG&E also provides a variety of other payment services for its customers. These programs include the Balanced Payment Plan (BPP), the Automatic Payment Service (APS) and the Pay-by-Phone program. The Balanced Payment Plan and Automatic Payment Service continue to be popular choices among PG&E customers with 400,000 customers participating in BPP and 310,000 in APS. "In the future, and as the opportunity permits, the Internet may be yet another vehicle for our customers to conduct utility business," said Jorgensen.

The Balanced Payment Plan assists customers in managing monthly bills by 'balancing out' monthly energy costs. Residential customers with individual meters are eligible. Here's how the plan works: -0-

--   PG&E divides by 12 the energy amount the household used last year
  to establish a monthly energy cost.
--   This amount becomes the new monthly BPP payment.
--   With BPP, the meter will be read every month and the monthly
  statement will include the actual usage and billing information.
--   When the customer receives their bill only the 'Balanced Payment
  Due' is paid.
--   PG&E reviews each account every four months and adjusts the BPP
  amount, if necessary, to ensure that a bill is not over or under
  paid over the course of twelve months.
  The Automatic Payment Service is an easy way to eliminate trips
to the post office, stamp purchases and writing a monthly check.
Here's how the APS program works:
--   A customer's monthly PG&E bill is paid directly from his or her
  bank, savings and loan or credit union account.
--   The customer will still receive a monthly bill showing the date
  it will be paid by the financial institution. This allows time
  for the customer to review the bill with PG&E if there are
  questions or if a stop payment is necessary.
--   The customer maintains control over the payment, even if a check
  is not written.
  "The Balanced Payment Plan has been particularly helpful to those
on fixed incomes or those wishing to further manage their monthly
bills. The Automatic Payment Service has found favor with those who
just want to spend less time writing out checks," said Russ Jorgensen.
"And the one call solution, Pay-by-Phone, continues to meet the needs
of over 15,000 customers each month."
  The Pay-by-Phone method assists customers who don't have time to
run to the Post Office or visit a pay station to make their payment
Payments are made using Visa, Mastercard, Discover cards or ATM cards
with the Explore symbol. Here's how to make a payment by phone:
--   Using a touch tone telephone, call Telepay at 800/891-8626.
--   Have your credit or ATM card and PG&E account number handy.
--   A processing fee of $5.50 for credit cards and $1.50 for ATM
  cards will be assessed to the customer's account by Telepay, the
  independent service provider.

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PG&E's request for funds to continue these services is contained in its 1999 General Rate Case which is being considered by the California Public Utilities Commission this year.

For more information about PG&E, please visit our web site, http://www.pge.com