Putting Energy Efficiency First

In 1976, PG&E became one of the first utilities in the nation to offer energy efficiency programs to our customers. And we've been a leader ever since.

Using energy more efficiently is more than simply the right thing to do—it saves our customers money on their energy bills. It is also the fastest, most cost-effective way to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and combat global climate change. In fact, since 1976, PG&E and our customers have kept more than 155 million tons of carbon dioxide (CO2) out of the atmosphere, based on cumulative lifecycle savings.

While times may have changed, PG&E’s commitment to saving energy is stronger than ever.

Partnering with Our Customers

PG&E offers a full package of energy efficiency products and services for our customers, including rebates and incentives, energy analyses, training and education, and more.

ENERGY STAR® House

To raise public awareness on energy efficiency, PG&E set up and staffed a custom-built, interactive energy-efficient home in San Francisco’s historic Union Square in support of U.S. EPA's "Change the World, Start with ENERGY STAR" campaign.

We are targeting energy-efficient televisions, computers and monitors—recognizing the rapidly increasing demand for electronics, which already account for 18 percent of residential energy consumption in our service area.

Because compact fluorescent lightbulbs (CFLs) use up to 75 percent less energy than traditional incandescent lamps, we are educating our customers on how helping the environment can be as easy as changing a lightbulb. We are also working directly with manufacturers and retailers to discount the bulbs at the point of sale and are working with state and local governments to promote fluorescent lamp recycling through the California Take-It-Back Partnership.

Our Pacific Energy Center in San Francisco and Energy Training Center in Stockton promote new technologies and educate our customers on the latest energy efficiency options. Our Food Service Technology Center in San Ramon provides nationally recognized energy efficiency consulting services to the commercial food service industry.

Creating High-Tech Energy-Saving Solutions

Data centers can use up to 100 times the energy per square foot of typical office space. That’s why PG&E offers a whole set of programs and services for the high-tech sector, including incentives for energy-efficient servers, heating and cooling system upgrades, LCD monitors, and more. We also helped form a nationwide coalition of utilities to discuss and coordinate energy efficiency efforts for data centers in the high-tech sector. And we were the first utility to join the Green Grid, a non-profit consortium dedicated to advancing energy efficiency in data centers and business computing systems.

LED Street Light

Through trials in Oakland and San Francisco, PG&E demonstrated that LED street lights can reduce energy usage by up to 50 percent compared with traditional street lights—one of many new and emerging energy-efficient technologies being evaluated by PG&E.

Bringing New Technologies to You

We developed an easy-to-use, automated and voluntary system enabling building owners and managers to upload their energy usage data into the U.S. EPA’s ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager building performance rating system. Customers can compare their buildings with similar facilities in the same climate zone, providing a guide for future goal-setting and helping to identify buildings with high energy usage levels.

Our award-winning SmartMeter™ program is the nation’s largest deployment of advanced metering infrastructure to date. The program provides our customers a number of benefits, including better information and the ability to make cost-saving choices about the way they use energy.

SmartMeter™ Electric Meter

PG&E has installed more than 2.3 million SmartMeter™ gas and electric meters—more advanced meters than any other utility in the nation.

Finding Local Solutions

We are partnering with communities to deliver energy efficiency solutions for local needs, including energy audits and direct-installation programs. For example, we partnered with the Association of Monterey Bay Area Governments to help the region's hospitality industry become more energy efficient. The partnership has worked with more than 200 establishments—from large chain hotels to independent inns—by offering simple energy audits and installing customized energy-saving measures for free.

In addition, our team of experts provided technical assistance last year to help the California Energy Commission set new efficiency requirements for appliances. These include energy efficiency standards for equipment, ranging from portable lamps to residential pool pumps. Codes and standards for appliances and buildings are a key strategy for locking in long-term energy savings across a wide spectrum of energy consumers.

Demand Response

In addition to energy efficiency, PG&E also manages a variety of demand response programs to help cut peak energy use. Focusing on ways to reduce peak energy use is vital to our environmental and resource planning objectives. These programs reward participating customers for voluntarily reducing their energy use when asked to do so in response to a peak-demand event, typically no more than a few critical days each year.

PG&E’s SmartAC™ program

PG&E’s SmartAC™ program provides a simple and voluntary way for households to participate in demand response. During extremely hot summer days, PG&E can dispatch a radio signal to SmartAC devices installed in a customer’s home, slightly reducing the amount of electricity that the customer’s air conditioner uses without disturbing customer comfort.

Working Beyond California

PG&E is also working to advance opportunities associated with energy efficiency outside of California by working with other utility leaders. Peter Darbee, Chairman, CEO and President of PG&E Corporation and President and CEO of Pacific Gas and Electric Company, co-chaired the Edison Electric Institute's (EEI's) Energy Efficiency Task Force, focused on broadening industry executives' understanding of alternative business and regulatory models for advancing energy efficiency as a response to rising energy demand and environmental challenges. As a result of these efforts, the EEI launched an Institute for Electric Efficiency to help utilities and others working on energy efficiency to identify and implement best practices.

Policymakers and energy program staff from around the world have visited PG&E to meet with our energy efficiency team. Additionally, PG&E experts have been invited to India and China to consult on-site with regulators and policymakers as they develop demand-side management initiatives to address the skyrocketing electrical demand in their countries and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

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2009

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