FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

OUTAGE CAUSED BY ATTEMPTED THEFT, VANDALISM

ALAMEDA, Calif., October 31, 2005 - Electric service to approximately 3,000 Alameda customers was interrupted Friday evening due to the attempted theft of copper cable or intentional vandalism of the Alameda Power & Telecom system.

The outage began at 6:56 p.m. and affected customers generally from Marina Drive to Otis Drive between High Street and Pearl Street. Alameda P&T crews restored power to all customers at 8:07 p.m., about 1 hour later.

A problem on the distribution circuit serving the area was identified and reported immediately through the Alameda P&T Dispatch Center. Responding crews on Friday evening patrolled the circuit, while Dispatch personnel isolated the fault location and switched to alternate circuitry.

An onsite investigation Saturday morning revealed that an underground distribution vault near the site of the Bridgeside commercial development had been opened and the cable inside had been severely damaged. Various tools and materials also were discovered at the scene. It was evident that an attempt had been made to sever the 12,000-kilovolt cable.

Alameda P&T General Manager Valerie Fong stated, "It's a miracle that we didn't discover a body, as well. Whoever tried this put themselves in great jeopardy. Those persons may have thought the area was deenergized due to the local construction. But this incident underscores the need to always treat electric lines as live."

Both the Alameda Police Department and Alameda Power & Telecom are continuing a full investigation of the incident.