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             California Public Utilities Commission
505 Van Ness Avenue, Room 5301            San Francisco, CA 94102
CONTACT: Dianne Dienstein            January 23, 1997    CPUC - 3
         415-703-2423

                 CPUC ADOPTS 1997 BUSINESS PLAN

    The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) today
approved its first Business Plan.  The 1997 Business Plan
describes the long-term outlook and expectations of Commissioners
for CPUC-regulated telecommunications, energy, water and
transportation industries as well as specific programs,
objectives and strategies the staff will use to achieve
Commissioner goals during 1997.  The plan culminates months of
interaction among Commissioners, staff, and external stakeholders
in assessing and prioritizing the issues pending before, or
expected to come to, the Commission for resolution this year.
    Since beginning its internal reform and reorganization
efforts, the Commission has believed a thoughtfully crafted
Business Plan to be essential to fulfilling its Vision 2000
commitments to better serve the needs of California now and in
the future.  As both a statement of strategic objectives and a
management and planning tool, the Business Plan will improve
decision-making processes by efficiently allocating scarce
Commission resources.
    The 1997 CPUC Business Plan enables Commissioners to clearly
identify goals and establish project or program priorities for
management and staff to implement according to reasonable
milestones, expected results, and performance indicators to
measure success or needed improvement.  As important as the Plan,
though, is the ongoing business planning process Commissioners,
management and staff will use to report on progress and, if
                            - more -
necessary, revise expectations given changing conditions.  The
dramatic, rapid changes affecting CPUC-regulated industries make
this process for reviewing and revising plans and expectations
vital to the agency.
    A copy of the 1997 CPUC Business Plan is available by calling
415-703-1245.  It also will be availabile on the Internet at
http://www.cpuc.ca.gov.

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