San Francisco -- PG&E Corporation (NYSE: PCG) and 20 other major energy companies today announced the creation of Pantellos Corporation to operate and manage an open, independent Internet marketplace for the purchase of goods and services between the energy industry and its suppliers.

"The launch of Pantellos Corporation is an important milestone in our continuing efforts at PG&E Corporation to capitalize on e-commerce opportunities to improve the speed, efficiency and cost-effectiveness of the way we do business," said PG&E Corporation Chairman, CEO and President Robert D. Glynn, Jr. "We expect Pantellos to benefit our utility customers and generate value for both our shareholders and suppliers alike."

By bringing customers and suppliers together online, PG&E Corporation and the other founders of Pantellos expect to streamline purchasing processes, shorten purchasing cycles, and increase accessibility between buyers and sellers.

Glynn also emphasized that the Corporation expects the creation of the new online marketplace to promote supplier diversity.

"PG&E Corporation maintains a strong commitment to supplier diversity," said Glynn. "Pantellos will provide small and historically underutilized suppliers open, low-cost access and increased market reach. Our support of Pantellos represents a great opportunity for us to further our ongoing commitment to these suppliers. Specifically, through our businesses, we envision using Pantellos' services in such a way as to enhance the access of women- and minority-owned businesses."

Pantellos will have an initial capitalization of $100 million. It will use the proceeds to fund development of technology solutions and provide necessary capital for ongoing operations. Pantellos also announced it has selected Commerce One (NASDAQ: CMRC) as the primary technology partner.

Pantellos (pan-TELLos) is a Greek word that can be interpreted as meaning "complete or absolute." The name reflects the company's goal to provide total e-supply-chain solutions to its customers. To date, Pantellos has initiated contact with some 1,500 suppliers to forge strong, mutually beneficial partnerships in areas of interest and opportunity to all supply chain participants. The company is seeking participation from all suppliers. Regional workshops are being scheduled to provide more opportunity for information exchange and dialogue.

The members of Pantellos are American Electric Power (NYSE: AEP), Carolina Power & Light (NYSE: CPL), Cinergy (NYSE: CIN), Consolidated Edison, Inc. (NYSE: ED), DTE Energy (NYSE: DTE), Dominion Resources (NYSE: D), Duke Energy (NYSE: DUK), Edison International (NYSE: EIX), El Paso Energy (NYSE: EPG), Entergy (NYSE: ETR), FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE: FE), FPL Group (NYSE: FPL), GPU (NYSE: GPU), Ontario Power Generation, PG&E Corp. (NYSE: PCG), Public Service Enterprise Group (NYSE: PEG), Reliant Energy (NYSE: REI), Sempra Energy (NYSE: SRE), Southern Company (NYSE: SO), TXU (NYSE: TXU) and Unicom (NYSE: UCM).

For more information about the exchange, please visit its Website at: www.pantellos.com