LEAWOOD, Kan. - Nov. 9, 2009 -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:

"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

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

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

*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.

Contact information:
Tortoise Capital Advisors, LLC
Pam Kearney, Investor Relations, (866) 362-9331, pkearney@tortoiseadvisors.com