From left, Byron Washom, Jim Avery and Jesse Berst talk about developing a smart grid. | Melissa Jacobs

When it comes to developing a smart grid, or a more intelligent system of using and distributing electric power, San Diego Gas & Electric Co. appears to be in the vanguard.

At a three-day meeting of a coalition of international utilities and service providers held at the Hilton San Diego Bayfront hotel last week, SDG&E representatives talked about some of the innovations the company recently completed or is planning to implement to help give consumers more control over their energy usage.

SDG&E is also benefiting from having already adapted some innovative technologies such as smart electric meters, which are being installed in some of the area’s homes.

SDG&E Vice President Jim Avery told the group that his company realized early on that incorporating automated controls into the network was a critical component of establishing a smart grid that gave consumers more control over their power usage.

This year, the utility has installed some 180,000 smart meters in houses and businesses, mainly in North County. The meters give consumers the ability to see how much energy they’re using, and the ability to increase or reduce their overall use.

$572M Project

The ambitious plan will cost about $572 million when all of SDG&E’s 1.4 million customers receive such meters in their homes or businesses. The installation is to be completed by 2011.

By providing customers with accurate data and increased control of power use, the utility thinks it will be able to reduce overall energy consumption, said Lee Krevat, who heads up SDG&E’s smart grid initiative.

To accomplish this goal, SDG&E realizes it has to work with many local companies and groups to convince consumers that they can make a difference, Avery said.

“If we sent out this message alone, we’d have a low success rate,” he said.

Lisa Bicker, president of CleanTECH San Diego, a trade organization representing companies involved in clean energy development, said utility companies and their partners need to engage in dialogue with customers about the smart grid, what it is, and how customers play a vital role.

“Those conversations need to be a two-way flow,” Bicker said. “We need meaningful feedback so that you can understand what’s going well, and what’s going not so well.”

Scaling Up The Smart Grid