Awarded as a 2020 SEPA Power Player
Today, SDG&E was acknowledged as “Investor-Owned Utility of the Year” for their industry leadership and innovation to advance clean energy to help meet the needs of electricity consumers.
The Smart Electric Power Alliance (SEPA) announced the winners of the 2020 SEPA Power Players Awards in recognition of their groundbreaking efforts in project or program design, unique partnerships, stakeholder engagement, and more. The winners, in eight award categories, will be recognized during the 2020 SEPA virtual Grid Evolution Summit on July 28-30.
The official announcement can be found here.
Investor-Owned Utility of the Year
The award, “Investor-Owned Utility of the Year,” specifically acknowledges SDG&E’s Power Your Drive program, a program that has installed more than 3,000 electric vehicle (EV) chargers at over 250 locations, including multi-unit dwellings and workplaces. Over 30% of those EV chargers were installed in communities of concern, those communities who face high levels of air pollutants and face the threat of health impacts due to poor air quality.
SDG&E is also one of the first utilities in the nation to deploy EV chargers to this scale and couple them with an hourly dynamic grid integrated rate: the VGI Rate.
Advancing clean energy
SDG&E’s Power Your Drive program is one of several initiatives the company is taking to advance clean energy and make EV charging accessible for all.
Currently, the company is implementing a program to install charging infrastructure for medium-duty and heavy-duty trucks and buses through the Power Your Drive for Fleets program. This program will assist schools, municipalities, transit operators, and both large/small businesses to defray some of the costs to convert their vehicles.
SDG&E is also in the planning stage of the Power Your Drive for Schools, Parks and Beaches program that was approved late last year. This program will bring about 340 EV chargers to those locations.
And they are also piloting the installation of charging equipment for electric delivery trucks and shuttles; ground support equipment at the San Diego International Airport; trucks, forklifts, and other equipment at the Port of San Diego; Caltrans Park and Ride sites in the region, and have supported deployments of all electric delivery trucks for UPS and Amazon.
SEPA Power Players Awards
Now in their twelfth year, the awards recognize utilities, their industry partners, individuals and other stakeholders working on the front lines of the U.S. energy transition. In particular, the SEPA Power Players Awards focus on projects, initiatives and thought leadership that promote collaborative, innovative and replicable models for change. These industry leaders significantly advance knowledge of or access to clean energy with solutions that benefit electricity consumers and the grid.
“This year’s Power Players winners showcase innovation in clean energy,” said SEPA President & CEO Julia Hamm. “They are spearheading the visionary projects, innovative programs, and collaborative partnerships that will accelerate the transition to a clean and modern energy future. As our industry grapples with unprecedented challenges brought by the COVID-19 pandemic, this leadership is more necessary now than ever.”
About SEPA
The Smart Electric Power Alliance (SEPA) is a nonprofit organization that envisions a carbon-free energy system by 2050. They are one of many entities globally required to make this vision a reality.