From Microgrids to Smart Meters, Sempra Pushes Energy Tech

From Microgrids to Smart Meters, Sempra Pushes Energy Tech

In Borrego Springs, Calif., a remote village in a desert valley 90 miles northeast of San Diego, Sempra Energy is reinforcing its reputation as a forward-thinking energy company. Through its San Diego Gas Electric subsidiary (SDGE), Sempra is implementing a microgrid, a self-contained mini power grid that can keep the lights on in a community cut off from its main power supply due to a blackout, natural disaster, or terror attack.

The project, among only a handful underway nationwide, is part of a diverse SDGE technology portfolio that includes solar, wind, electric-vehicle technology, and the use of online resources to spur conservation. The utility has installed 1.4 million smart electric meters, reaching nearly every corner of its service territory.

Late last year, SDGE inaugurated a new tagline, "Connected," that sums up its mission: "Connected to the customer, connected to the environment, connected to technology," says Michael Niggli, SDGE's president and chief operating officer. In recognition of the utility's track record as an innovation leader, U.S. News selected Sempra, its corporate parent, as one of America's "Most Connected" energy companies.

[See America's Most Connected Companies.]

Niggli says SDGE has to stay ahead of the curve to meet the expectations of tech-savvy Southern Californians. "Our customer base are early adopters," he explains, noting that San Diego has some of the "highest penetrations in the country" of electric vehicles and photovoltaics on rooftops.

Sempra's other major utility, Southern California Gas, which serves Los Angeles and communities up to the Mexican border, plans to install six million smart (or what it calls "advanced") natural gas meters from late 2012 through 2017. SoCalGas also occasionally draws headlines for its research efforts, such as its recently launched multi-year test of solar thermal technology that uses sunshine to heat water to run air conditioning systems. An ongoing collaboration with Gills Onions in Oxnard, Calif., turns onion waste into methane to operate fuel cells that power the business.

On March 21, President Obama visited Sempra U.S. Gas Power's Copper Mountain Solar 1 plant in Nevada, among the nation's biggest solar farms, to reaffirm his support for renewable energy. Sempra U.S. Gas and Power was formed January 1 through the combination of Sempra's U.S. operations outside California. With subsidiaries in Mexico and South America, Sempra Energy reaches more than 31 million customers.

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Many of the expenditures that SDGE and other California utilities make are designed to meet strict mandates imposed by state regulators. "To a certain extent, they have to" invest because "they have one of the highest targets for clean and renewable energy," says Todd Allmendinger, vice president at Charles River Associates and an energy specialist. He notes that the state also sets emissions and mileage standards for cars.

But according to the market intelligence firm IDC, SDGE has surpassed its peers in California and nationwide with its robust technology portfolio. In its latest rankings, IDC Energy Insights chose SDGE for the third straight year in a row (2009 to 2011) as the most "intelligent utility" in the United States. "The company has worked hard to develop and deploy a well-planned road map and business plan for smart grid initiatives, supported by farsighted IT spending. This is what has ensured San Diego Gas Electric's place at the top," IDC said.

The runner-up, Pacific Gas Electric, has one of the largest smart meter deployments in the country and reached a milestone in mid-May when it installed its 9 millionth device. The utility has faced a particularly vocal backlash, however, from customers worried about everything from health effects to privacy.

SDGE regularly explores new ways to connect with ratepayers. Through a partnership with Boulder, Colo.-based Simple Energy, a software company, it held a contest last year in which 200 customers competed via an online game platform to save the most energy. A new contest to debut this summer will encourage customers to compete to save energy on behalf of local middle schools that will vie for cash grants.