California Water Service Group Contributes More Than $550,000 to Local Charitable Organizations in 2014, Looks to Continue Support in 2015

SAN JOSE, CA -- (Marketwired) -- 01/07/15 -- As part of its commitment to improving the quality of life in the communities it serves, California Water Service Group (Group) (NYSE: CWT) ended 2014 with donations of $552,017 made throughout the year to charitable organizations in its California, Washington, Hawaii, and New Mexico service areas.

According to Martin A. Kropelnicki, President and CEO, these contributions were donated by the company's shareholders and not paid for by ratepayers.

Among its donations, California Water Service Company (Cal Water), the Group's largest subsidiary, contributed $136,750 to local charitable organizations over Thanksgiving as part of the company's annual Operation Gobble program to help provide holiday meals and assistance to residents. The contributions also included $12,000 to renovate and reopen four parks in Cal Water's Marysville District; donations to help families start over after a trailer park fire destroyed five residences in the King City District; and Toys "R" Us gift cards after clothes and toys for 100 needy families were stolen from the Yuba-Sutter Salvation Army.

Cal Water continued its support for a number of other charities, including the United Way of San Joaquin County, Elite Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Business Network, Selma Cancer Support, and Second Harvest Food Bank of Santa Clara and San Mateo Counties, among others.

Hawaii Water Service Company made donations to the Maui Food Bank and the Food Basket, while New Mexico Water Service Company supported the Belen Area Food Pantry. Washington Water Service Company annually supports the Permission to Start Dreaming Foundation, which sponsors an event called Race for a Soldier and supports organizations that help soldiers recover from war and readjust to life back home.

"With these donations, we hope that these service organizations are able to mentor more children, shelter more of the homeless population, feed more needy, and ultimately make our communities a better place to live," Kropelnicki said. "Our shareholders appreciate the hard-working people we serve, and every year, we look forward to finding the right opportunities to give back."

In 2014, shareholders also established a $100,000 Cal Water Cares Grant Program, which provides eligible customers facing hardships with assistance of up to $200 to help pay their water utility bill. The company also launched a $120,000 scholarship program for students in its service areas pursuing higher education.

Opportunities to contribute to the communities in which Group's subsidiaries operate were not limited to financial donations. In the spirit of giving, employees also made the holidays a little brighter for local residents by providing gifts to families in need through the company's Adopt-a-Family program in Cal Water's Livermore, Rancho Dominguez, Salinas, and Visalia districts. Employees also volunteered with local charities and helped collect donations for the Salvation Army, Make-a-Wish Foundation, Toys for Tots, United Way, Children's Home of Stockton, and Open Heart Kitchen.

Additionally, in December, employees in Cal Water's Bakersfield District hosted a "green" employee volunteer event to benefit the Bakersfield Police Activities League (PAL). Employee volunteers donated their time to provide a water- and energy-efficient renovation for the youth center. The project included an additional contribution of $20,000 in plants and materials to PAL.

As California Water Service Group enters 2015, the company plans on continuing its outreach efforts and developing additional programs to benefit customers in the areas it serves.

California Water Service Group is the parent company of California Water Service Company, Washington Water Service Company, New Mexico Water Service Company, Hawaii Water Service Company, Inc., CWS Utility Services, and HWS Utility Services. Together, these companies provide regulated and non-regulated water service to approximately 2 million people in more than 100 California, Washington, New Mexico, and Hawaii communities. Group's common stock trades on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol "CWT." Additional information is available at our web site at www.calwatergroup.com.

This news release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning established by the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 ("Act"). The forward-looking statements are intended to qualify under provisions of the federal securities laws for "safe harbor" treatment established by the Act. Forward-looking statements are based on currently available information, expectations, estimates, assumptions and projections, and management's judgment about the Company, the water utility industry and general economic conditions. Such words as would, expects, intends, plans, believes, estimates, assumes, anticipates, projects, predicts, forecasts or variations of such words or similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance. They are subject to uncertainty and changes in circumstances. Actual results may vary materially from what is contained in a forward-looking statement. Factors that may cause a result different than expected or anticipated include, but are not limited to: governmental and regulatory commissions' decisions; changes in regulatory commissions' policies and procedures; the timeliness of regulatory commissions' actions concerning rate relief; new legislation; changes in accounting valuations and estimates; changes in accounting treatment for regulated companies, including adoption of International Financial Reporting Standards, if required; electric power interruptions; increases in suppliers' prices and the availability of supplies including water and power; fluctuations in interest rates; changes in environmental compliance and water quality requirements; litigation that may result in damages or costs not recoverable from third parties; acquisitions and our ability to successfully integrate acquired companies; the ability to successfully implement business plans; changes in customer water use patterns; the impact of weather and climate on water sales and operating results; access to sufficient capital on satisfactory terms; civil disturbances or terrorist threats or acts, or apprehension about the possible future occurrences of acts of this type; the involvement of the United States in war or other hostilities; our ability to attract and retain qualified employees; labor relations matters as we negotiate with the unions; federal health care law changes that could result in increases to Company health care costs and additional income tax expenses in future years; changes in federal and state income tax regulations and treatment of such by regulatory commissions; implementation of new information technology systems; changes in operations that result in an impairment to acquisition goodwill; restrictive covenants in or changes to the credit ratings on our current or future debt that could increase our financing costs or affect our ability to borrow, make payments on debt or pay dividends; general economic conditions, including changes in customer growth patterns and our ability to collect billed revenue from customers; and, other risks and unforeseen events. When considering forward-looking statements, you should keep in mind the cautionary statements included in this paragraph, as well as the annual 10-K, Quarterly 10-Q, and other reports filed from time-to-time with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The Company assumes no obligation to provide public updates of forward-looking statements.

Released January 7, 2015