FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE	Contact:  Patrick Dorinson
December 30, 1997	1 (888) 516-NEWS

CALIFORNIA ISO ANNOUNCES START UP BY MARCH 31, 1998

     (Folsom, CA) The California Independent System Operator (Cal-ISO) will report to the state Electricity Oversight Board that it expects to formally assume control of the transmission systems of the three investor-owned utilities and start its operation of markets by March 31, 1998.  The report will be made at the Board’s meeting on December 30, 1997.

     The proposed plan for start up was decided today, Monday, December 29, 1997, in a Cal-ISO Board of Governors teleconference, after consultations with the California Power Exchange, the three investor-owned utilities, and other market participants.

     “We will continue our aggressive training and testing schedule to meet the earliest possible start date, while the March 31st date recognizes the need to allow for some contingencies and provides the marketplace with a date that we reasonably believe we can meet,” said Cal-ISO CEO Jeffrey Tranen.
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     The start-up time includes approximately two months to identify and correct software problems and another month to do the final market demonstration test and provide 15-day notice of the intended start-up date.

     Tranen explained that each phase of this project was compressed significantly and, despite extraordinary efforts, the final phase of identifying and correcting software problems simply was not of the nature that allowed shortening of the schedule.  The level of integration and complexity of all the systems as well as the need to accommodate existing contracts and operating arrangements among the market participants have been important drivers in this final phase of the schedule.  Tranen felt confident that the projected time for start up would be adequate to further test the computer systems and deal with all the start-up related issues.

     “We will continue our transitional control of the power grid,” Tranen continued. “We will work closely with all market participants to ensure adequate training and deliver the new electricity market envisioned by its creators.”

     The California ISO was chartered by the state to safeguard the reliable delivery of electricity and ensure equal access to California’s “electron highway”, a transmission system spanning 124,000 square miles or three-quarters of the state. The Cal-ISO was incorporated in May 1997 and moved into its Folsom headquarters in August.  In that time, it has staffed a workforce of 240 professionals and installed more than $100 million in computer hardware and software.

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ISO-12.30.97