SDG&E offers lower bills to those who conserve

SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA - Just in time for the holidays, San Diego Gas & Electric has offered customers a one-time, 20 percent credit on their bills in November or December - if they reduce their electricity use by 20 percent from July through October.

The offer is the centerpiece of a new summer energy conservation program the utility announced recently.

Residential and small-business customers automatically will be enrolled in the program, known internally as the 20/20 program.

"If you save 20 percent, you get a 20 percent credit," said Michelle M.

Mueller, SDG&E's vice president of customer service.

The program reflects broader concerns about the adequacy of generated power in California this summer.

The California Public Utilities Commission introduced a similar incentive program to encourage conservation and avoid rolling blackouts during the 2001 energy crisis. SDG&E offered the same credit to residential users in 2002, and the PUC reinstated the program this year.

Peak demand for electricity grew by 4 percent from 2003 to last year, according to the California Independent System Operator, the agency responsible for managing the statewide power grid.

SDG&E customer demand rose by a similar amount last year, although the company expects more modest growth of 1 percent to 2 percent this year.

"If we have an unusually hot year, a one-in-10 hot year, then in Southern California, there will be issues," Mueller said. While population growth has increased the demand for electric power in general, Mueller said housing development has boomed in inland regions where summer temperatures are hotter.

Demand also has increased with families installing many televisions and computers in their homes.

"In San Diego, our peaks are usually in August and September and occasionally the first part of October," Mueller said. Adequate power has been scheduled, but a major power plant or transmission line could go down for unexpected reasons.

Mueller said SDG&E is counting on customers' conservation efforts to help the utility get through the peak days of August and September.

Customers can track their electric energy usage by looking at the year-to-year energy use figures at the bottom of their monthly bills. Those who qualify will get a 20 percent credit on either their November or December bill, depending on the timing of their billing cycle.

"We want to remind customers to get into the energy-saving habit early," Mueller said. "By cutting back on electricity use, especially during peak-use times, they can help the state avoid power emergencies, protect the environment, reduce their overall energy costs, plus get money back."

Michael Shames, executive director of the Utility Consumers' Action Network, a San Diego watchdog group, said the 20/20 program was non-controversial.

"But I'm not optimistic it will have significant impact," Shames said.