Greetings:

As many of you know the Governor held a press conference tonight- below is
the Summery.  Jan had a live Satellite feed-broadcast state wide-outside the
governors office at the end of the press conference in which NBC, ABC, CBS,
CNN, Fox, and several of their local, LA, Bay Area affiliates as well as
most of the Capitol Press Core including the Wall Street Journal, Sacramento
BEE. LA Times, Bloomberg, SF Chronicle, SJ Mercury News, AP and others.  WE
will keep you posted of others.  Just a reminder we will also be holding a
press availability tomorrow at 11:30 a.m. in which we will be discussing
further IEP's reaction to the Governors Press Conference and other events in
the Legislature this week.

As always we will keep you posted...


Katie Kaplan




FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
04/05/2001


GOVERNOR GRAY DAVIS DELIVERS
ADDRESS TO CALIFORNIANS ON
ENERGY

SACRAMENTO

Governor Gray Davis today delivered
an important live address on energy from his office in
Sacramento. The following are his
remarks as prepared for delivery:

"Good evening. I'm speaking to you
tonight from Sacramento on the most difficult issue facing
California: our energy crisis.

"Simply stated, we have two problems:
supply is too low and costs are too high. Both result from the
flawed deregulation scheme created in
1996. But no matter how we got into this mess, you hired me to
solve problems. And that's what I'm
doing.

"The only long-term solution is to
build more power plants. We must also cut back on consumption and
stabilize the utilities. But prices
won't fall and supply won't be truly reliable until we generate more
power than we consume.

"Yet in the 12 years before I took
office, not a single major power plant was built in California. Not one.
Since I became Governor, we've
licensed 12 major power plants. Ten more are in the pipeline. And
we're doing this without weakening
our commitment to clean air and clean water.

"Deregulation required the utilities
to sell off many of their power plants to independent generating
companies. The generators are free to
charge whatever they want because they're governed only by
federal regulators who refuse to
control wholesale energy prices.

"This past winter, the prices charged
by the generators shot through the roof, driving the utilities to the
brink of bankruptcy.

"In January, with the feds still
refusing to do their job, California stepped in to purchase the power the
utilities could no longer afford to
buy. We didn't take over to save the utilities. We took over to keep the
power on and the economy strong.
That's not all:

We also negotiated long-term
contracts for electricity at vastly lower prices.
I used my emergency powers to
seize control of low-cost power contracts the utilities were
about to forfeit to the
generators.
We began negotiations to buy the
utilities' transmission system.
We cut red tape and offered cash
incentives to speed up construction of power plants.
We're launching an $800 million
conservation program.
We're moving to establish a
public power authority to build more power. If the private sector fails
to build all the plants
California needs, we'll build them ourselves.
And because I share your concern
that the generators are ripping us off, we're using every legal
remedy to root out and punish
illegal conduct.

"We can't fix 12 years of inaction
overnight. But we're making real progress.

"Now, as you know, I have fought
tooth and nail against raising rates. It's become increasingly clear,
however, that with rising natural gas
prices, the feds' failure to control costs, and the state's lack of
supply, that some rate increases are
needed to keep our lights on and our economy strong.

"But I remain committed to protecting
average Californians from massive rate hikes. So I'm urging the
Public Utilities Commission to adopt
a plan that will protect average consumers, reward those who
conserve and motivate the biggest
users to cut back.

"Under my proposal, more than half of
you won't pay a penny more. For the rest, the average increase
will be 26 and a half percent. For
many of that group, rates will rise only about 10 percent. The heaviest
users will see their rates rise 34
and a half percent on average. That includes business paying their
share. This is in addition to the 9
percent surcharge we've all been paying since last winter.

"But all Californians can reduce
their bills through conservation.

"Here's the point: The more you use,
the more you pay. The more you conserve, the more you save.
Conservation is our best short-term
weapon against blackouts and price-gouging. By flexing your
power, you'll help secure our energy
future.

"Unlike the PUC, my plan includes
funds to restore the utilities to financial stability -- If they agree to
three main conditions:

"They must provide low-cost regulated
power to the state for 10 years. Agree to sell us their
transmission system. And dismiss
their lawsuits seeking to double your electricity rates.

"My proposal raises rates fairly,
assures us of long-term power, stabilizes the utilities and promotes
conservation.

"Our emphasis on conservation is
critical. In order to make it through the summer, we must cut
demand by at least 10 percent.

"Already we've launched programs to
cut back commercial lighting, and reduce consumption in office
buildings, schools and government
facilities.

"Friends, we have a power shortage
but we are far from powerless. We are 34 million strong and if
each of us does our part, we can
minimize disruptions and get through the summer. We are
Californians. We've withstood
earthquakes, floods, fires, and droughts.

"Yes, this mess is man-made, but with
your help and God's blessing, we'll get through this as well.

"Thank you and good night."

Katie Kaplan
Manager of State Policy Affairs
Independent Energy Producers Association
(916) 448-9499



Katie Kaplan
Manager of State Policy Affairs
Independent Energy Producers Association
(916) 448-9499