At Gridweek Lee Krevat of San Diego Gas and Electric (SDG&E) gave an overview of the smart grid program at SDG&E. A major driver for all California electric power utilities is renewable energy. SDG&E’s goal is by 2020 to have deployed advanced grid technologies that will enable a 30% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions. One of the most important contributors to this objective is supplying 33% of energy demand from renewable energy sources.
The smart grid program at SDG&E involves smart grid investment in nine different programs,
- Customer empowerment
- Renewable energy
- Electric vehicles
- Security
- Reliability and safety
- Operational efficiency
- Smart grid RD&D
- Integrated and cross-cutting systems
- Workforce development
SG&E’s 10 year road map for smart grid deployment, which is updated frequently, is the utility’s vision for a smart energy future and is designed to help customers and the vendor community see where SDG&E is going as it deploys smart grid technology.
San Diego is an interesting area, because SDG&E consumers are already doing what folks in many other parts of the country can expect to be doing sometime in the future. All consumers already have a smart meter. One in a hundred consumers are already generating electricity with photovoltaic technology. There are already a thousand electric vehicles on San Diego roads.
SDG&E has been doing smart grid-related activities since 2006 and has amassed substantial data on the costs and benefits of different aspect of the smart grid. Its conclusion is that the benefits outweigh the costs.
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