PG&E 2010 Annual Report Download - page 8

In 2011, we are focused again on improving overall
customer satisfaction, which fell during 2010 as reflected in
ratings that were well below our targets. The San Bruno
accident and SmartMeter™concerns contributed heavily to
these declines, as did PG&E’s sponsorship of a
controversial state ballot initiative defeated by voters last
June. However, we recognize that these were not the only
factors. Customers are also sending a signal that they
expect PG&E to be more responsive to their service needs
in general.
With that in mind, in the second half of last year, we
initiated a system-wide listening tour in which PG&E
officers and other members of management spent time in
the field hearing candid—and sometimes difficult—feedback
directly from our customers on a broad range of issues.
This outreach and engagement is continuing in 2011,
and we are actively incorporating what we learn to help
improve the way we are doing business.
We are also increasing PG&E’s engagement within its
communities. In 2010, PG&E employees volunteered
27,500 hours of their time, a 10 percent increase over 2009.
They also set a new record for philanthropy through our
annual charitable giving drive. And last year we again
increased PG&E Corporation’s charitable support in our
communities, with contributions exceeding $19.3 million.
In 2011, we will aim to build on these efforts once again.
INCREASING EFFICIENCY AND RENEWABLE
ENERGY
Even in a year of challenge, PG&E’s commitment to the
environment has remained firm. MSCI/RiskMetrics, a
leading investment research and advisory firm that
evaluates investor risk and value related to sustainability
issues, ranked PG&E number one on its 2010 global
assessment of environmental attributes of 29 companies in
the utility sector. In particular, PG&E was recognized for its
low carbon emissions risk, overall sustainability
management strategy, and strategic opportunities in
renewable power and energy efficiency.
Newsweek magazine named PG&E the greenest utility in
the country for the second consecutive year in 2010. We
were again named to the Dow Jones Sustainability World
Index, one of only five U.S. utilities to earn that
distinction. And the Carbon Disclosure Project recognized
PG&E as one of the top 10 companies in the S&P 500 for
climate change-related disclosure and performance.
Our belief in the importance of environmental
leadership has driven performance across our business,
most notably in the areas of energy efficiency and
renewable energy.
In 2010, our energy efficiency initiatives helped
customers save over 250 megawatts of electricity and
23 million therms of natural gas, or the approximate
amount of natural gas consumed by tens of thousands of
average homes in our service area in one year. We also
provided over $170 million in energy efficiency rebates,
helping customers save money and providing additional
stability to the electric grid through reduced demand.
Through our energy efficiency efforts, the company
continued to earn significant incentives under the
framework approved by the CPUC in which utilities share
in the benefits of energy efficiency savings they help
customers achieve. In December 2010, the CPUC awarded
PG&E $29.1 million in incentives after a final review and
consideration of the savings achieved by the company in
its 2006–2008 program cycle, which is credited with saving
$1.5 billion in energy costs.
PG&E’s accomplishments were also solid on the
renewable energy front. In 2010, we added about 290
megawatts of renewable energy to our supply, helping to
increase our renewables deliveries to 17.7 percent of our total
energy mix. PG&E also signed additional contracts to buy
another 2,000 megawatts of renewable power in the future.
The additions to our supply will help PG&E achieve
California’s goals to significantly increase renewable energy
deliveries over the next decade. The state’s 33 percent
target by 2020 is currently the most ambitious renewable
energy goal in the country. Similarly, these efforts will also
help the company as it works to meet requirements to
reduce greenhouse gas emissions under California’s
landmark Global Warming Solutions Act.
As we pursue these goals, we remain fully committed to
achieving results in ways that most effectively minimize the
costs for utility customers.
LOOKING FORWARD
If, as we said in the opening of this letter, 2010 will be
looked back on as a year in which we faced tremendous
challenges, we are determined that it will also be
remembered as a turning point—a pivotal moment that led
us to rethink the way PG&E approaches key aspects of its
business and raise its operational performance and service
to set a new standard.
This determination will continue to drive us in 2011,
and it will shape the way we continue to respond to the
challenges that lie ahead.
Our priorities this year will continue to focus above all
on the safety and integrity of our operations. As the
investigations into the San Bruno tragedy move forward
this year, we know we will gain more insights that will
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