San Diego CA—  Wednesday night, SDG&E received the 2017 ReliabilityOne™ Award for ‘Outstanding Reliability Performance’ among utilities in the west region by PA Consulting Group. The ReliabilityOne™ Awards are given annually to the utilities that have excelled in delivering the most reliable electric service to its customers. SDG&E also received the ‘Outstanding Technology and Innovation’ award because of the company’s commitment to utilize innovative technology for the benefit of customers.
To be named the most reliable utility in the western United States means electricity is available when customers need it, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Maintaining award-winning reliability is the foundation of SDG&E’s day-to-day operations by continually working to lower the number and duration of power outages customers experience. Due to advanced improvements to the power grid, customers on average experience about one power outage every other year lasting approximately 60 minutes.
Every family and business deserves reliable energy to keep the lights on, heat their homes and power their businesses, 24/7. That is exactly what San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E) delivers. It is why SDG&E has been recognized for delivering industry-leading reliability to customers now for the past 12 straight years.
“It’s our responsibility to provide reliable energy service for everyday life, whether you’re doing laundry at home, operating a business or running an elementary school, we want customers to have peace of mind knowing that the lights will turn on any time they flip the light switch,” said Dave Geier, senior vice president of electric operations for SDG&E. “We are committed to continually improving reliability by modernizing infrastructure, leveraging technology and planning for the region’s future energy needs.”
Local community organizations, like the YMCA of San Diego County, thrive on having reliable energy service when it comes to educating the next generation of leaders.
“The YMCA is all about youth development, healthy living and social responsibility,” said Michael Brunker, executive director of the Jackie Robinson Family YMCA. “Today, fostering an environment for learning requires access to technologies that help youth stay engaged – and equipment that helps all walks of life stay healthy. Trusting that the power will always be on allows us to provide what our community needs.”
Some of SDG&E’s most innovative technology and reliability enhancements include:

• Modernizing infrastructure: SDG&E is actively upgrading aging electrical equipment to ensure better performance, safety and reliability for customers throughout the region.
• Investing in energy storage: As part of SDG&E’s ongoing commitment to delivering a balanced mix of clean and reliable energy, the company constructed the largest lithium-ion battery energy storage project in America. At 30 megawatts (MW), SDG&E’s project located in Escondido, Calif. can store wind and solar energy when it is abundant to power approximately 20,000 homes, for up to four hours (120MWh).
• Advancing clean energy: To help ensure that our children and grandchildren inherit cleaner, safer and healthier communities, SDG&E is delivering 43 percent of its energy from renewable sources.

“SDG&E has embraced the benefits that new technology can provide in their overall outage restoration and management process, and has shown that by breaking through the barriers to innovation, organizations can achieve exceptional results,” said Gregg Edeson, PA Consulting Group’s ReliabilityOne™ Program Director. “As companies strive to deliver the highest level of reliability to its customers, the next generation of utilities must continue to remain resilient in the face of an ever-changing industry.”
SDG&E is an innovative San Diego-based energy company that provides safe, reliable, clean energy to better the lives of the people it serves in San Diego and southern Orange counties. More than 4,000 employees work to provide the cleanest, safest and most reliable energy in the West. The company was the first to meet California’s goal of delivering 33 percent of energy from renewable sources, has fueled the adoption of electric vehicles and energy efficiency through unique customer programs, and supports a number of non-profit partners. SDG&E is a subsidiary of Sempra Energy (NYSE: SRE), a Fortune 500 energy services holding company based in San Diego. For more information, visit SDGEnews.com or connect with SDG&E on Twitter (@SDGE), Instagram (@SDGE) and Facebook.

About PA Consulting Group

An independent firm of over 2,600 people, we operate globally from offices across the Americas, Europe, the Nordics, the Gulf and Asia Pacific.  We are experts in consumer and manufacturing, defense and security, energy and utilities, financial services, government, healthcare, life sciences, and transport, travel and logistics.  Our deep industry knowledge together with skills in management consulting, technology and innovation allows us to challenge conventional thinking and deliver exceptional results that have a lasting impact on businesses, governments and communities worldwide.  Our clients choose us because we don’t just believe in making a difference. We believe in making the difference. For more information about PA Consulting Group, visit www.paconsulting.com. PA’s ReliabilityOne™ awards are presented to electric utilities providing their customers with the highest levels of reliability in the industry. PA’s ReliabilityOne™ study is based on standard industry reliability statistics that measure the frequency and duration of electric power outages and has been analyzing electric utility performance since 1987. For more information about PA Consulting Group, visit www.paconsulting.com/energy.