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e-FFICIENCY NEWS: As providers of electricity, utilities seem to be in a prime position to promote greater energy efficiency throughout all levels of the U.S. economy. In your opinion, how does PG&E stack up with other utilities in terms of energy efficiency programs, goals and results? Risser: In 1976, PG&E was one of the first utilities in the nation to offer energy- efficiency programs to our customers. And we’ve been a leader ever since. Today, we have one of the largest energy-efficiency programs in the country. With our 2006-08 energy-efficiency portfolio we expect to deliver a demand reduction of 613 megawatts – eliminating the need for one large power plant – and energy savings of 3,063 gigawatt-hours and 47.5 million therms. We believe this represents as large an energy-efficiency effort as ever undertaken by any U.S. utility. As of the end of 2007, we are ahead of schedule to meet these very ambitious three-year targets. PG&E’s programs often serve as a model for other utilities. For example, we worked with the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) and the other regulated California utilities to transform the compact fluorescent light (CFL) market through our pioneering Upstream Lighting Program. The program provides incentives directly to CFL manufacturers who in turn pass those incentives on to customers as a point-of-sale rebate. This program has been responsible for the sale of more than 45 million CFLs in our service territory since 2001. The upstream program model has now been adopted by many other utilities throughout the country. Energy efficiency is one of the core programs that PG&E offers to our customers. Our customers expect and appreciate these programs since they help them save energy and money for their homes and businesses, and help the environment. Customer satisfaction with our energy-efficiency programs is consistently very high, between 90 and 95 percent. e-FFICIENCY NEWS: Historically, PG&E has set some rather aggressive energy-efficiency goals. Can you give us some idea of what your company has done and is currently doing to achieve greater energy efficiency? Risser: During the first 30 years of our energy-efficiency programs, PG&E customers have saved more than 118 million megawatt-hours and 10.7 billion therms, based on cumulative lifecycle savings. This represents enough annual electricity to power over 18 million homes and enough annual natural gas to heat 15 million homes. During this time, we’ve been able to avoid the emission of more than 125 million tons of carbon dioxide. For every dollar we’ve spent on energy efficiency, we’ve saved customers $2 on their energy bills. Today, our annual savings represent over 1 percent of PG&E’s annual electric sales. We’re also looking towards the next generation of energy efficiency. Along with California’s other investor-owned utilities, we’re working with the CPUC to define a new long term strategic plan. This is expected to be a continuing effort to ensure that we continue to achieve aggressive energy savings. This first part of the plan will shape our programs beginning in 2009, using the perspective of the end result we want to achieve in 2020 and even 2030. As part of this process, we’ll be filing our portfolio plan for 2009-11 with the CPUC in May 2008. While we’re very proud of what we’ve accomplished so far, we also know that we can and must do more. That’s why we’re committed to energy efficiency for the long term and to exploring new and innovative strategies to help our customers save energy and help our communities reduce their impact on the environment. e-FFICIENCY NEWS: What types of energy-efficiency services do you offer customers? Are these confined to residential users or do you offer business solutions as well? Risser: PG&E currently administers 85 energy-efficiency programs; it’s a very diverse mix, ranging from traditional rebate and audit programs to providing education and training, codes and standards advocacy, and working on emerging energy-efficient technologies. Over the past few years, we’ve put our focus squarely on the customer, and we’ve designed our programs to meet the individual needs of a variety of customer groups, such as multifamily residential customers or the agriculture and food processing industry. Our portfolio structure focuses on mass (residential and small business) and niche (targeted medium and large business) customer markets and promotes universal identity and brand awareness around an energy message. We conduct outreach and serve customers within naturally occurring market segments based on customer business needs, rather than PG&E’s artificial rate schedules or program structure. This allows for tailored energy-efficiency opportunities that optimize savings based on customers’ specific load profiles and needs. The approach also integrates energy efficiency with other customer-actionable approaches to managing their energy use: demand response and distributed generation. This targeted approach has enabled us to design customized energy solutions for customers, significantly increasing our market penetration for individual segments. The high tech industry is a great example of how well this approach has worked. For years, PG&E – the utility serving the Silicon Valley at the heart of the technology revolution – worked with technology companies and data centers with limited success. In 2006, our High Tech Energy Efficiency Program staff, working directly with industry leaders, evaluated and then revamped our program offerings for this sector. We’ve been able to offer several first-of-their-kind incentives for new technologies such as virtualization, which allows customers to operate multiple IT workload streams on a single server. The High Tech team’s intense focus on and support of this market segment has cemented strong relationships and established PG&E as a trusted industry participant. As a result, PG&E was the only utility asked to participate in several high technology industry groups focused on energy efficiency, including The Green Grid and the Climate Savers Computing Initiative. For our residential customers, we offer rebates for energy-efficiency appliances and equipment, online energy analysis, and energy education and outreach. e-FFICIENCY NEWS: Despite the number of programs offered by utilities, often consumers are simply unaware of the impact they can have or the options available to them. Do you feel like enough is being done to educate the public about energy efficiency? Risser: Educating the general public about energy efficiency remains a priority. This is one of the best and least costly steps that we can all take to reduce our energy bills and help the environment. There is much more that can and should be done to raise public awareness about the benefits of energy efficiency. In 2007, PG&E ran two major educational campaigns aimed at a mass market audience, focusing on CFLs and appliance recycling. We also support California’s statewide Flex Your Power campaign. It is imperative that we continue to educate the public about the simple things they can do to save energy and money and stimulate them to partner with us on more ambitious actions. At PG&E, we’re also looking at ways to integrate our energy-efficiency outreach with messages about demand response and self-generation. We believe that integration needs to be at the core of what we’re doing – helping customers make smart choices about energy use and management. e-FFICIENCY NEWS: The United Nations Climate Change Conference recently convened in Bali. Global warming and climate change are two topics that are increasingly in the public eye and will demand action in the coming years. What is PG&E doing to address greenhouse gas emissions and global climate change? Risser: PG&E was one of the first utilities in the nation to recognize that climate change poses a severe and imminent threat. We believe that we have an obligation to find responsible and effective solutions to the threats posed by global climate change and to take immediate action. PG&E recognizes that the time for action is now, and that our industry must play a leading role in the efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions since the electric and gas sectors are one of the largest contributors to U.S. greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. In California, for example, the California Energy Commission attributes 22 percent of 2004 emissions to in-state and out-of-state electricity generation. PG&E was a founding member of the California Climate Change Registry and we certify our emissions annually with the Registry. PG&E’s GHG emissions rate of approximately 490 pounds per megawatt-hour is one of the lowest in the nation; the national average is over 1350 pounds per megawatt-hour. In addition PG&E was the only utility to support California’s landmark Global Warming Solutions Act (Assembly Bill 32). PG&E Corporation is also a member of the United States Climate Action Partnership (USCAP)—a group of businesses and leading environmental organizations that have come together to call on the federal government to quickly enact strong national legislation to require significant reductions of greenhouse gas emissions. Peter A. Darbee, Chairman, CEO and President of PG&E Corporation, has testified in front of the U.S. Senate’s Committee on Environment and Public Works during their hearings on climate change in February and June advocating mandatory GHG reductions and targets and market-based strategies, such as cap-and-trade, which provide the economic incentive and the flexibility to cut emissions in the most innovative, cost-effective ways. In accordance with California’s Energy Action Plan, PG&E considers energy efficiency the best “procurement” resource available. We believe that energy efficiency is the fastest, most cost-effective strategy to combat global climate change. In addition to our aggressive energy-efficiency programs, the power we deliver to our customers is some of the cleanest in the nation. More than 50% of the power we deliver to customers comes from sources that emit no greenhouse gases. We’re actively working to secure new renewable contracts that will help us deliver even cleaner power to our customers and meet California mandates for the renewable portfolio standard. PG&E is committed to reducing the GHG emissions associated with our operations and leading the fight against global climate change. We will continue to advocate for immediate and sustained action as well as explore new technologies and solutions that help address this pressing crisis. PG&E is also helping customers address global climate change through innovative new energy efficiency and other programs like our first-of-its-kind ClimateSmart™ program. ClimateSmart will allow those customers who choose to participate to make their energy use “climate neutral,” by paying a small premium on their monthly bill to be invested in GHG reduction projects in California. The typical PG&E residential customer pays less than $5 per month for ClimateSmart. One hundred percent of ClimateSmart payments directly fund new GHG emission reduction projects in California. PG&E invests these funds in a range of innovative carbon sequestration projects, such as conserving and restoring California ecosystems, and in capturing methane gas from dairy farms e-FFICIENCY NEWS: Are plug-in hybrids and other “smart” grid technologies a viable solution to our country’s over reliance on oil and, if so, how long do you think it will be before we see widespread implementation of these solutions? Risser: Plug-in hybrid vehicles (PHEVs) and other smart grid technologies definitely have a place in helping us reduce our dependence on petroleum. They represent one important strategy to reduce harmful emissions and enhance our energy security. PHEVs can take advantage of "plugging-in" to the grid and using a cleaner and cheaper transportation fuel. With the average daily commute being around 30-40 miles per day for many of PG&E’s customers, a PHEV -- with 40 miles of dedicated electric range -- could eliminate or significantly reduce the amount of fuel needed for their commute. Progress has been made in bringing PHEVs to market, and much more development work is continuing specifically on advanced batteries and other needed vehicle systems. Based on work being done by the various original equipment manufacturers to date, we see PHEVs coming to market as early as the 4th quarter 2009, with significant penetration by 2015 and beyond. |
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Roland Risser is the Director for Customer Energy Efficiency at