SAN DIEGO, June 13, 2011 – San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E) participated in today’s national White House announcement to empower customers to benefit from smart meter technology and move the smart grid forward.  SDG&E is also one of three utilities that today announced the launch of the Biggest Energy Saver contest to leverage smart meter data -- along with Oncor and CenterPoint Energy of Texas.  Almost all of SDG&E’s residential customers currently have smart meters, and all business customers will have their smart meters by late 2011.
  
Up to 200 SDG&E customers will receive in-home displays that allow them to monitor their energy use this summer.  Approximately half of those customers will receive additional technologies to automate their electric load reduction during times of peak energy use, like hot summer days. All of the customers who receive this technology will be eligible to receive prizes if they save the most energy, and the top 10 percent will be awarded.
 
The information learned from how these customers use their smart meter data will help SDG&E understand customer acceptance, preferences and behavior with these types of technologies.  It will also help the utility understand the capability of electric load control systems and devices for residential customers.  The contest will end on October 31, 2011.    

Many customers said they want access to their energy usage information online.  Smart meters – one of the foundational elements of the smart grid – allow access to this data.  They provide customers with greater choice, convenience and control in how they access and use the information.
 
On June 6, SDG&E released its plan outlining the utility’s vision for the electric grid of the future.  In its plan, SDG&E emphasizes that the need for a smarter grid is being driven by customers.  The plan provides a roadmap for how San Diego’s electricity grid will develop over the next decade and empower SDG&E customers with the latest technology and service choices – like those that will evolve from access to smart meter data.
 
“Our Smart Grid Deployment Plan details how we will allocate energy resources more efficiently and deploy new technology to give our customers a much greater level of control over their energy usage,” said James P. Avery, senior vice president of power supply for SDG&E.  “The plan offers a framework for discussion of our region’s energy future.”
  
The Biggest Energy Saver Campaign is also supported by founding partners Oncor, CenterPoint Energy, Landis+Gyr and Itron with IBM as a collaborator.  The Biggest Energy Saver contests are sponsored by Grid 21, a new non-profit organization and national initiative to engage electricity customers in using a new generation of tools and technologies to better manage their electricity consumption.
 
SDG&E is a regulated public utility that provides safe and reliable energy service to 3.5 million consumers through 1.4 million electric meters and more than 850,000 natural gas meters in San Diego and southern Orange counties.  The utility’s area spans 4,100 square miles.  SDG&E is committed to creating ways to help our customers save energy and money every day.  SDG&E is a subsidiary of Sempra Energy (NYSE: SRE), a Fortune 500 energy services holding company based in San Diego.

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