Tortoise Power and Energy Infrastructure Fund, Inc. Announces Distributions for First Fiscal Quarter 2010, Portfolio and Leverage Update

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LEAWOOD, Kan.--(Business Wire)--
Tortoise Power and Energy Infrastructure Fund, Inc. (NYSE: TPZ) today declared
its monthly distributions for the first fiscal quarter of $0.125 per month
payable as set forth below. Based on TPZ`s offering price of $20.00 per share,
the annualized distribution rate is 7.5%.

TPZ declared the following monthly distributions for December, January and
February. The distribution schedule appears below:

Month Ex-Date Record Date Payable Date Per Share Amount
December 12/18/09 12/22/09 12/31/09 $0.125
January 1/20/10 1/22/10 1/29/10 $0.125
February 2/16/10 2/18/10 2/26/10 $0.125

"With the IPO and leverage proceeds fully invested we have achieved our targeted
yield and are fully earning our distributions paid to stockholders," said David
J. Schulte, Managing Director of Tortoise Capital Advisors. "We expect our 1st
fiscal quarter 2010 monthly distributions to represent approximately 99 percent
of distributable cash flow."

Distributable cash flow is supplemental non-GAAP financial information, which
Tortoise Capital Advisors believes is meaningful to understanding the fund`s
operating performance. A portion of these distributions are expected to be
treated as return of capital for income tax purposes, primarily as a result of
the fund`s investments in Master Limited Partnerships. The ultimate
determination will not be made until after the fund`s year-end. Based on current
financial information, these distributions are estimated to consist of 45 to 50
percent ordinary income and the remainder as return of capital for book
purposes.

Portfolio Composition as of Oct. 31, 2009

The fund seeks to provide NAV stability, high current income, and monthly
distribution frequency similar to bond funds, while providing more inflation
protection than is typical of fixed income bond funds. TPZ seeks to accomplish
this by investing in a portfolio of fixed income and equity securities issued by
power and energy infrastructure companies. Infrastructure investments are
suitable for investors desiring attractive risk-adjusted returns, with low
correlation to equity markets

"The regulated nature and long lives of TPZ`s assets makes them relatively
stable through economic cycles, as other areas of infrastructure are dependent
on the power and energy sectors", said Zachary Hamel, Managing Director.
"Further, in the event that the U.S. economy moves into an inflationary
environment, the equity component of TPZ`s portfolio is constructed to
potentially provide a partial hedge against inflation."

Set forth below is a summary of the company`s portfolio structure and allocation
of portfolio assets as of Oct. 31, 2009. The Top 10 Holdings are available on
the company`s website. A complete list of holdings will be published with the
2009 annual report.

Portfolio Structure Allocation

Fixed Income: 60%
Equity: 40%

Note:Allocation of MLP Securities capped at 25% of total assets.

Allocation of Portfolio Assets* (as of Oct. 31, 2009)

Allocation % of Investment
Securities
Pipeline Companies 67%
Power Companies 26%
Other Energy Companies 7%
Total 100%

*Percentages based on total investment portfolio

Leverage Update

TPZ completed a private placement offering of $20 million in floating rate
Senior Notes, Series A, due Nov. 6, 2014. The Notes have an initial rate of 2.14
percent which resets quarterly based on the 3-month LIBOR plus 1.87 percent. TPZ
used the net proceeds of this offering to retire a portion of its short-term
debt under the company's unsecured credit facility.

The Fund also entered into a series of interest rate swaps to fix the majority
of its leverage costs over the next several years. "We believe that our floating
rate borrowing cost has more risk of increasing from here over the next several
years, so we took the opportunity to lock in these rates at what we believe to
be very attractive levels." said Ken Malvey, Managing Director. "We have
achieved our total leverage target of less than 20% of Total Assets at an
average cost of less than 4%".

About Tortoise Power and Energy Infrastructure Fund, Inc.

Tortoise Power and Energy Infrastructure Fund, Inc. invests in a portfolio of
fixed income and equity securities issued by power and energy infrastructure
companies. The fund`s goal is to provide stockholders` a high level of current
income, with a secondary objective of capital appreciation.

About Tortoise Capital Advisors

Tortoise is an investment manager specializing in listed energy infrastructure,
such as pipeline and power companies. As of Oct. 31, 2009, the adviser had
approximately $2.5 billion of assets under management in five NYSE-listed
investment companies and private accounts. For more information, visit our Web
site at www.tortoiseadvisors.com.

Safe Harbor Statement

This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation to
buy, nor shall there be any sale of these securities in any state or
jurisdiction in which such offer or solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior
to registration or qualification under the laws of such state or jurisdiction.

Forward-Looking Statement

This press release contains certain statements that may include "forward-looking
statements" within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and
Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. All statements, other than
statements of historical fact, included herein are "forward-looking statements."
Although the company and Tortoise Capital Advisors believe that the expectations
reflected in these forward-looking statements are reasonable, they do involve
assumptions, risks and uncertainties, and these expectations may prove to be
incorrect. Actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in
these forward-looking statements as a result of a variety of factors, including
those discussed in the company`s reports that are filed with the Securities and
Exchange Commission. You should not place undue reliance on these
forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this press
release. Other than as required by law, the company and Tortoise Capital
Advisors do not assume a duty to update this forward-looking statement.

Tortoise Capital Advisors, LLC
Investor Relations
Pam Kearney, 866-362-9331
pkearney@tortoiseadvisors.com

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