"Call Before You Dig" Celebrates 30th Anniversary

More Than 6 Million Calls Processed and Countless Dig-Ins Avoided
BELLEVUE, Wash.--(Business Wire)--
Today, July 31, marks the 30th anniversary of the Utilities
Underground Location Center (UULC), the "Call Before You Dig"
non-profit organization, which provides one-call service to more than
1,000 utilities in Washington and Montana.

Established in 1978 by five Seattle-area utilities, including
Puget Sound Energy (PSE) predecessor companies Washington Natural Gas
and Puget Sound Power & Light, the UULC has processed more than 6
million calls from homeowners, renters and businesses requesting
underground natural gas, electric, water, sewer, and cable line
locates during the past 30 years.

"The UULC has grown in leaps and bounds since its initial
years when locate requests were recorded through teletype machines and
the organization worked out of the basement of the Washington Natural
Gas Building," said Jerry Henry, PSE's senior advisor to the chairman
and one of the "Call Before You Dig" pioneers. "Puget Sound Energy is
proud to have partnered with 'Call Before You Dig' and other local
utilities these last 30 years to promote customer safety and prevent
line damage."

Since 2002, PSE alone has responded to nearly 2 million locate
requests, with more than 950,000 for natural gas line locates and
approximately 900,000 for buried power line locates. Annually, PSE
still experiences approximately 3,100 dig-ups of its utility system,
which has more than 11,700 miles of buried natural gas lines and
nearly 10,000 miles of underground power lines.

"We constantly work to remind people to call before they dig,"
said Henry. "It keeps us all safe and also saves time and money."

The UULC is one of three "Call Before You Dig" committees in
Washington state, with a service area that includes the Puget Sound
region, scattered parts of Central and Eastern Washington, and nearly
all of Montana, except for Flathead and Lincoln counties. The
committee was formed in 1978 in response to the Washington state law
RCW 19.122 requiring anyone engaging in digging or excavation work to
call 811 (effective in 2007) or 1-800-424-5555 to contact the One Call
Center for locates at least two business days prior to digging.

Homeowners, renters and businesses can also log on to
www.callbeforeyoudig.org to make a request online. After the request
is made, a utility representative will physically mark the location of
underground utilities, such as natural gas pipes (yellow marking),
buried power lines (red), drinking water (blue), non-drinking water
(purple), sewer lines (green) and television and telephone cables
(orange) at no charge. This helps those digging to avoid hitting these
vital lines.

For more information on the UULC visit www.callbeforeyoudig.com.
To request a locate or for more information on the One Call Center,
visit www.callbeforeyoudig.org. For information about PSE, visit
www.pse.com.

About Puget Sound Energy

Washington state's oldest and largest energy utility, with a
6,000-square-mile service area stretching across 11 counties, PSE
serves more than 1 million electric customers and nearly 735,000
natural gas customers, primarily in Western Washington. PSE meets the
energy needs of its growing customer base through incremental,
cost-effective energy efficiency, procurement of sustainable energy
resources, and far-sighted investment in the energy-delivery
infrastructure. PSE employees are dedicated to providing great
customer service to deliver energy that is safe, reliable, reasonably
priced, and environmentally responsible. For more information, visit
www.PSE.com.

Puget Sound Energy
Meghan Fitzpatrick, 1-888-831-7250

Copyright Business Wire 2008