(October 23, 2006 – Newark, N.J.) - Public Service Enterprise Group (PSEG) President and Chief Operating Officer Ralph Izzo said today his company supports the effort to develop a state Energy Master Plan designed to achieve NJ Gov. Jon S. Corzine’s directive to reduce the state’s energy consumption 20% and meet 20% of electricity requirements with renewable resources by the year 2020.

Izzo, speaking at the first of a series of Energy Master Plan Public Stakeholder Meetings this morning, said the governor’s directive presents a substantial challenge. “However, when you consider these goals in the context of climate change, concern about increasing energy costs, and the security and reliability of energy supplies, the time to undertake this challenge is now.”  The session was held at the NJ Board of Public Utilities office in Newark.

Izzo noted that the efficiency and renewable resources goal represents an amount of energy equal to all of the electric energy used in the states of Connecticut and Rhode Island in 2004. A primary task for energy planners, he said, is how best to develop and deploy innovations and new technologies that will make the plan’s goals achievable.

The effort, he said, “will require a fundamental change in how we think about energy and how we invest in infrastructure. It will require that we redefine the role of the state’s utilities and energy companies.”

Izzo said the state’s utilities should be actively involved in developing and investing in energy efficiency, demand side management, advanced metering infrastructure, and renewable resources. Utilities, he said are well positioned to finance investments on the customer side of the meter that are aligned with the plan’s goals and that this is especially relevant for large energy users. “We already have the brand recognition and relationships with consumers,” Izzo said. “As utilities, we have the ability to deploy capital through investments serving the long-term public interest provided we have the opportunity to earn a reasonable return.”

Izzo cautioned that energy system reliability must be a focus of the Energy Master Plan effort. He said in-state electric generation and centralized power plants must continue to play an important role in supporting reliability. And he noted the importance of engaging regional and federal policymakers on issues that affect the energy planning effort.

Izzo said, “I applaud the governor and his energy team for having the foresight to initiate this effort. We are all aware that safe, reliable, affordable, and environmentally sustainable energy is vital to New Jersey’s economic future and the social well-being of all citizens. We support the goals set forth in the governor’s directive and we pledge our best efforts to help achieve them.”

Public Service Enterprise Group (PSEG) (NYSE:PEG) is a publicly traded diversified energy company with annual revenues of more than $12 billion, and three principal subsidiaries: PSEG Power, one of the largest independent power producers in the U.S.; Public Service Electric and Gas Company (PSE&G), winner of the ReliabilityOne National Achievement Award as the nation’s most reliable utility; and, PSEG Energy Holdings, a holding company for other non-regulated energy businesses.