PG&E 2009 Annual Report Download - page 8

We view last year’s positive feedback as a considerable
accomplishment in light of the strain that the tough
economy has placed on some customers. We attribute this
to the marked improvements in electric reliability and our
outreach to customers who were struggling to stay current
with their bills.
As noted earlier, we significantly ramped up efforts to
inform customers about various ways PG&E can lend a
hand to those who need it. Our Breathe Easy Solutions™
initiative raised broad customer awareness of a full range of
options, from direct financial assistance to flexible payment
plans and help through energy efficiency programs.
Among the most telling signs of success was the
increased enrollment in PG&E’s CARE Program, which
assists income-qualified customers through discounts on
their monthly energy bills. The program added more than
466,000 new participants in 2009.
Higher program enrollment numbers were also a
validation of our efforts to know our customers better than
ever before. More than ever, we are making smart use of
our knowledge of customers’ specific needs and preferences
to tailor our service offerings and effectively match
customers with the right products and programs. This will
remain a key pillar of our strategy going forward.
FOCUSING ON SUSTAINABILITY
Of all the influences reshaping our business—the advent of
smart technologies, the tough economy, the need to
replace aging infrastructure, and rising customer
expectations—the most fundamental is the need to produce
and use energy in ways that are cleaner and more efficient.
Climate change, water scarcity, waste reduction, air and
water quality, habitat protection, and other sustainability
issues are compelling utilities to take a fresh look at their
end-to-end operations and assess basic policies and
priorities.
Last year, we continued to answer this challenge in
different ways, from reducing water and energy
consumption in our facilities to offsetting the carbon
emissions associated with the energy we use in our offices
and maintenance facilities.
One of the most important ways was helping customers
through our industry-leading energy efficiency initiatives.
In 2009, we again enabled customers to achieve
extraordinary energy savings. We expect that when the final
analysis of last year’s programs is complete, it will confirm
that we surpassed the gas and electric savings goals that the
state set for the year.
We also received $33.4 million in energy efficiency
incentives last year, earned in return for helping customers
achieve savings in the 2006-2008 program cycle.
Energy efficiency remains the most readily available,
cost-effective, and powerful resource to meet new demand,
produce energy savings, and reduce emissions in the near
term. In fact, in the decade ahead, PG&E plans to meet
almost half of customers’ new energy demand through
energy efficiency.
In addition to helping customers save energy, we
continued to provide them with an energy supply that is
among the cleanest in the nation. PG&E’s carbon dioxide
emissions rate is approximately 50 percent lower than that
of the average utility.
Our supply will become even cleaner in the future. In
2009, we signed 42 new renewable energy purchase
contracts. If all of these projects are built, these agreements
will represent additions of more than 4,200 megawatts of
new renewable resources to our future supply.
PG&E also successfully secured $25 million from the
U.S. Department of Energy to fund preliminary work on
a compressed-air energy storage project. The project will
use night-time energy, when wind power is most abundant,
to pump air underground. The air can then be released to
drive turbines as needed, delivering 300 megawatts of
power for up to 10 hours.
On the policy front, we continued to work with
policymakers to advance federal climate and energy
legislation that puts a price on carbon emissions. We
believe strongly that well-crafted legislation to address
greenhouse gas emissions can provide clarity that drives
business investment in cleaner, more efficient technologies
while also protecting consumers.
These and other examples of leadership on the
environment have distinguished PG&E in the eyes of key
observers. In 2009, PG&E was one of only two U.S. utility
companies named to the prestigious Dow Jones
Sustainability World Index, which lists the top 10 percent
of companies worldwide that lead their industries in
managing economic, environmental, and social issues.
ATTAINING OUR VISION
As we look forward, 2010 is set to be a demanding and
pivotal year—demanding because of the goals we have set
for ourselves and the difficulties that persist in the
economy, and pivotal because the way we balance and
resolve critical issues this year will in many ways set the
stage for the next few years and the opportunities ahead.
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