Nov 05 2009

Depending on Energy Efficiency

Posted by: Katie Romans

Since 1976, when PG&E became one of the first utilities in the country to offer energy efficiency programs, it has helped save more than 155 million megawatt-hours of electricity and 155 million tons of carbon pollution. But, to make the further savings needed to help curb global warming, our energy efficiency experts have to go the extra mile.

For these efforts, PG&E was recently recognized by Edison Electric Institute (EEI) for its outstanding service in providing energy efficiency programs to national chains -- an area that the chains believe to be critical to their operations.

In a press release, EEI President Thomas R. Kuhn said, "The winning utilities and individuals understand that the health of their business is dependent upon the health of their customer's business. With today's volatile energy prices and uncertain economic conditions, the winners know that they must continually work to make their customers more energy efficient, more productive, and ultimately, more profitable."

PG&E's strategic roadmap of energy efficiency over the next three years, the 2010-2012 energy efficiency portfolio, is specifically designed around customer segments and individual customer needs. PG&E will outline how it plans to meet the aggressive savings goals set forth in the portfolio in a compliance advice letter to be filed with the California Public Utilities Commission in December. Here's a sneak preview:

Business and Consumer Electronics: Electronics make up eight percent of PG&E's total electric load, and that number is growing. By contracting directly with major manufacturers and retailers, PG&E is today delivering mid-/upstream incentives for energy-efficient consumer electronics. 

LED Streetlights: LED streetlights are still expensive, but with the combined assistance of grants from the federal stimulus and incentives provided from PG&E, more cities are able to afford them. Most recently, the Town of Danville converted its streetlights to LEDs, realizing the benefits of a longer life span, reduced maintenance costs/energy use and better color rendition.

Behavior Change: Finally, some experts believe there are great energy savings opportunities to be mined through behavior change. In fact, the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE) estimates an energy savings opportunity of 20-30 percent through behavior change. The challenges of implementing behavior change are twofold: ensuring persistence in realizing that energy savings and mitigating the adverse effects that can come with time differentiated rates and behaviors.

As long as the success of PG&E and our business customers depend upon the company's success in delivering energy efficiency programs, we will continue to identify unique and growing opoprtunities for energy savings.

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