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July 9, 2009
PG&E's, SABEResPODER and the Mexican Consulate in Fresno Join to Enroll Latino Utility Customers in Money-Saving Programs

PG&E's CARE and Energy Partners Programs Help Customers Save on Energy Bills

FRESNO, Calif. – Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) is partnering with SABEResPODER and the Mexican Consulate in Fresno to raise awareness in the Latino community of PG&E programs that will help customers save on their energy bills.

PG&E's CARE program provides a monthly discount on energy bills for income-qualified households. The utility’s Energy Partners program provides income-qualified households free energy education, installation of energy-efficient measures and energy-efficient appliances to reduce gas and electric usage. Through a joint educational campaign announced at the Mexican Consulate today, the partnership will seek to increase enrollment in these PG&E customer assistance programs.

"PG&E is committed to helping our customers manage their energy use and lower their energy bill, especially during challenging economic times," said Linda Fontes, Manager of the CARE program at PG&E. “We hope this new educational partnership will help bring greater awareness to the CARE and Energy Partners programs."

To increase enrollment among Latinos who are financially eligible for PG&E’s programs, the partnership’s educational campaign will coordinate the distribution of basic financial service information from SABEResPODER, as well as PG&E's CARE and Energy Partners materials, to visitors at the Fresno Mexican Consulate. Visitors will also be able to learn about the benefits of each program, as well as the eligibility requirements and application processes, by viewing a presentation of these programs through a continuous video loop located in the Consulate’s main lobby.

The Consulate of Mexico in Fresno, through the community outreach programs of the Institute for Mexicans Abroad (Instituto de los Mexicanos en el Exterior, IME), promotes strategies and integrates ventures tending towards the well-being of the Mexican communities living abroad through a wide-range of initiatives and projects related to education, health care, culture, sports, economic development and community organizations awareness.

The Consulate of Mexico in Fresno services around 50,000 Mexican nationals annually. An estimated 1.5 million Mexicans live in the eight counties that comprise this Consulate’s jurisdiction. The Consulate in Fresno is the official representative of the Government of Mexico to the counties of Fresno, Inyo, Kings, Kern, Madera, Mariposa, Merced and Tulare.

"In this tough economic time it is increasingly important to ensure that families have access to timely information on money-saving initiatives such as the PG&E CARE and Energy Partners Programs," said Raúl Lomelí-Azoubel, Executive Chairman of SABEResPODER. “SABEResPODER is delighted to be the vehicle by which this information is shared with the Latino community in an educational and engaging manner. Our goal is to ensure that Latinos enroll in these programs and start receiving the benefits immediately."

For more information about PG&E's CARE and Energy Partners programs, visit www.pge.com/myhome/customerservice/financialassistance/

About Pacific Gas and Electric Company

Pacific Gas and Electric Company, a subsidiary of PG&E Corporation (NYSE:PCG), is one of the largest combined natural gas and electric utilities in the United States. Based in San Francisco, with 20,000 employees, the company delivers some of the nation’s cleanest energy to 15 million people in northern and central California. For more information, visit www.pge.com/about/.

About SABEResPODER

SABEResPODER provides corporations, agencies and non-profit entities with powerful and exclusive media solutions for gaining incremental customers while assisting Spanish-dominant consumers to become more informed, confident and active consumers and participants in American society. SABEResPODER is a targeted Spanish-language multimedia network reaching Spanish dominant consumers at a key transition point when they are actively pursuing resources to further establish their lives in the United States. Visit www.saberespoder.com.