EGR Commerce Energy Grp.,

Commerce Energy Group Receives Licenses to Provide Electricity to Virginia and Maryland COSTA MESA, Calif., Nov. 18 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Commerce Energy Group, Inc. (AMEX:EGR) a leading U.S. independent retail electricity provider, today announced that under their subsidiary, Commonwealth Energy Corporation, doing business as electricAmerica, has been granted licenses to provide electric service in the states of Virginia and Maryland. Under the brand name electricAmerica, Commerce Energy Group currently supplies their low-cost reliable electricity to customers in California, Michigan, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania and is licensed as an alternative energy service company in the states of New York, Texas, and Ohio. This most recent qualification allows electricAmerica to begin offering retail electric services to commercial and industrial customers within the borders of both Virginia and Maryland. "Obtaining licenses in these two new states presents a tremendous opportunity for electricAmerica," said President, Peter Weigand. "We are dedicated to our strategy of expansion into new markets in pursuit of diversified long-term growth, and these authorizations will allow electricAmerica to expand its presence in the Northeast." The acquisition of the Maryland and Virginia licenses comes in conjunction with the release of a ranking of national electric service providers, where electricAmerica is once again placed high on the list. This report was released by KEMA, an independent strategic and technical consulting firm that specializes in serving the global electric and gas industry. Based on peak megawatt load, electricAmerica has the honor of being the top among independent retailers, or those that are not affiliated with a utility or large industrial parent. "We are very pleased by our listing in the KEMA report," said Mr. Weigand. "Our ranking is a direct reflection of our proficiency in the deregulated electricity market and the ability to convert our expertise into consumer trust and measurable savings for our customers." Since the Company's inception in 1998, electricAmerica has been committed to providing customers with energy priced below that of the utilities. To date, electricAmerica has saved its electric service customers millions of dollars from what they would have paid had they remained with their utilities. About Commerce Energy Group, Inc Commerce Energy Group, Inc. is a provider of energy products and services to homeowners, commercial and industrial consumers, utilities, governments and energy asset owners. Operating since 1998 as Commonwealth Energy Corporation, Commerce Energy Group now operates through its subsidiaries including Commonwealth Energy Corporation, which holds FERC and state licenses for retail and wholesale energy commodities and is a retail electricity provider to homes and businesses in California, Michigan, Pennsylvania and New Jersey under the brand name "electricAmerica"; Skipping Stone, an energy consulting firm; and utiliHost, an outsourcing services and technology provider. For more information visit http://www.commerceenergy.com/. DATASOURCE: Commerce Energy Group CONTACT: public relations, Doreen Wiley, +1-714-259-2567, or cell, +1-562-301-4087, , or investor relations, Verna Ray, +1-714-259-2500, , both of Commerce Energy Group Web site: http://www.commerceenergy.com/

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