Energy Storage Projects To Benefit Emergency Service Providers And Nonprofits

PR Newswire

SAN DIEGO, Feb. 28, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E) took another step toward preparing the region for the next major emergency. The company announced plans to add up to 166 megawatts (MW) of energy storage in a proposal submitted to the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC). If approved, the projects would support public-sector facilities that provide safety, security and emergency services during power grid outages.

The initial projects – seven in total – would be in San Diego County's rural and urban areas and serve critical public-sector facilities such as fire and police stations, emergency operation centers, and emergency evacuation sites. Providing these public facilities with energy storage systems will help maintain vital operations that serve the public's well-being. Pending CPUC approval, the plan would be implemented in phases over the next few years with all projects in operation by 2024.

"The innovative projects were developed through close collaboration with local leaders and will significantly increase the resiliency of critical public-sector infrastructure," said Scott Drury, SDG&E's president.

SDG&E's plan also includes an Energy Storage Customer Program Pilot. It would provide incentives for nonprofit care facilities to purchase energy storage systems. Eligible nonprofit low-income care facilities would include, but are not limited to, short or long-term care (hospice, nursing homes, children's and senior' homes), group homes for physically or mentally disabled persons, or other nonprofit group living homes.

The proposals are in response to California's Assembly Bill 2868 which was signed into law in 2016 and allows the company to add distributed energy storage.

Pending CPUC approval, SDG&E would issue a solicitation to identify a third party to administer the Energy Storage Customer Program Pilot. The company expects to launch the program within one year of CPUC approval.

Energy storage is playing a key role in SDG&E's commitment to deliver clean, safe and reliable energy. By 2030, the company expects to develop or interconnect more than 330 MWs of energy storage. These projects will help deliver more renewables to customers and help strengthen SDG&E's record as the most reliable utility in the West.

SDG&E is an innovative San Diego-based energy company that provides clean, safe and reliable energy to better the lives of the people it serves in San Diego and southern Orange counties. The company is committed to creating a sustainable future by delivering 43 percent of its electricity from renewable sources; modernizing natural gas pipelines; accelerating the adoption of electric vehicles; supporting numerous non-profit partners; and, investing in innovative technologies to ensure the reliable operation of the region's infrastructure for generations to come. 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.

Forward-Looking Statements
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Factors, among others, that could cause our actual results and future actions to differ materially from those described in any forward-looking statements include risks and uncertainties relating to: actions and the timing of actions, including decisions, new regulations, and issuances of permits and other authorizations by the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC), U.S. Department of Energy, California Division of Oil, Gas, and Geothermal Resources, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, states, cities and counties, and other regulatory and governmental bodies in the United States and other countries in which we operate; the timing and success of business development efforts and construction projects, including risks in obtaining or maintaining permits and other authorizations on a timely basis, risks in completing construction projects on schedule and on budget, and risks in obtaining the consent and participation of partners; the resolution of civil and criminal litigation and regulatory investigations; deviations from regulatory precedent or practice that result in a reallocation of benefits or burdens among shareholders and ratepayers; approvals of proposed settlements or modifications of settlements; delays in, or disallowance or denial of, regulatory agency authorizations to recover costs in rates from customers (including with respect to amounts associated with the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station facility and 2007 wildfires) or regulatory agency approval for projects required to enhance safety and reliability; the greater degree and prevalence of wildfires in California in recent years and risk that we may be found liable for damages regardless of fault, such as in cases where the doctrine of inverse condemnation applies, and risk that we may not be able to recover any such costs in rates from customers in California; the risk that rulings by the CPUC such as denying recovery for wildfire damages may raise our cost of capital and materially impair our ability to finance our operations; the availability of electric power, natural gas and liquefied natural gas, and natural gas pipeline and storage capacity, including disruptions caused by failures in the transmission grid, moratoriums or limitations on the withdrawal or injection of natural gas from or into storage facilities, and equipment failures; changes in energy markets; volatility in commodity prices; moves to reduce or eliminate reliance on natural gas; the impact on the value of our investments in natural gas storage and related assets from low natural gas prices, low volatility of natural gas prices and the inability to procure favorable long-term contracts for storage services; risks posed by actions of third parties who control the operations of our investments, and risks that our partners or counterparties will be unable or unwilling to fulfill their contractual commitments; weather conditions, natural disasters, accidents, equipment failures, computer system outages, explosions, terrorist attacks and other events that disrupt our operations, damage our facilities and systems, cause the release of greenhouse gases, radioactive materials and harmful emissions, cause wildfires and subject us to third-party liability for property damage or personal injuries, fines and penalties, some of which may not be covered by insurance (including costs in excess of applicable policy limits), may be disputed by insurers or may otherwise not be recoverable through regulatory mechanisms or may impact our ability to obtain satisfactory levels of insurance, to the extent that such insurance is available or not prohibitively expensive; cybersecurity threats to the energy grid, storage and pipeline infrastructure, the information and systems used to operate our businesses and the confidentiality of our proprietary information and the personal information of our customers and employees; capital markets and economic conditions, including the availability of credit and the liquidity of our investments; fluctuations in inflation, interest and currency exchange rates and our ability to effectively hedge the risk of such fluctuations; the impact of recent federal tax reform and uncertainty as to how it may be applied, and our ability to mitigate any adverse impacts; actions by credit rating agencies to downgrade our credit ratings or to place those ratings on negative outlook; changes in foreign and domestic trade policies and laws, including border tariffs, revisions to favorable international trade agreements, and changes that make our exports less competitive or impair our ability to export or resolve trade disputes; the ability to win competitively bid infrastructure projects against a number of strong and aggressive competitors; the impact on reliability of our electric transmission and distribution system due to increased amount and variability of power supply from renewable energy sources; the impact on competitive customer rates due to the growth in distributed and local power generation and the corresponding decrease in demand for power delivered through our electric transmission and distribution system and from possible departing retail load resulting from customers transferring to Direct Access and Community Choice Aggregation or other forms of distributed and local power generation, and the potential risk of nonrecovery for stranded assets and contractual obligations; and other uncertainties, some of which may be difficult to predict and are beyond our control.

These risks and uncertainties are further discussed in the reports that the company has filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). These reports are available through the EDGAR system free-of-charge on the SEC's website, www.sec.gov. Investors should not rely unduly on any forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements speak only as of the date hereof, and the company undertakes no obligation to update or revise these forecasts or projections or other forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

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