ATLANTA, GA.---October 22, 2008---Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E) of California plans to deploy as many as 3.3 million GE meters equipped with SmartMeter™ technology to utility customers in northern and central California. These meters will help customers manage their energy consumption and costs, while helping the utility improve customer service. Overall, PG&E plans to deploy 10.3 million SmartMeter gas and electric meters by the end of 2011 to virtually all of its customers.
Most electricity customers currently pay one set price for electricity, even though the cost to produce electricity tends to be higher during peak hours and lower during off-peak hours. With "time of use" pricing, smart meter technologies may offer lower prices during off-peak periods, empowering participating consumers to better manage their consumption---and ultimately---how much they pay for electricity.
"PG&E is demonstrating its leadership by embarking on a large-scale SmartMeter deployment," said Bob Gilligan, vice president of GE Energy's transmission and distribution division. "This program will help PG&E's electricity customers better manage, and lower, their energy consumption. Ultimately, this will help the utility reduce load and help reduce the need for more expensive generation."
The GE meters will be equipped with Silver Spring Networks smart grid/advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) communications technology. This technology will enable two-way communications between the utility and the electricity customer, supporting renewable generation at the customer's home, critical peak and time-of-use pricing and more.
By employing SmartMeter technology, PG&E will, in the future, be better able to detect and respond to power outages. In the United States, power outages and disruptions in the grid currently cost businesses $100 billion or more per year while disrupting the lives of consumers. According to EPRI, California experiences the greatest losses associated with power outages and disruptions, totaling $13.2-20.4 billion per year. That's more than any other state.
Smart meters are also being deployed globally. The province of Victoria, Australia has mandated the deployment of AMI smart meters to all energy consumers to begin in 2009 and to be completed in 2013. Ontario, Canada, has mandated the deployment of smart meters by 2010.
Efficiency gains achieved by upgrading to a smarter grid from a conventional one would be like switching from a typewriter to a word-processor. The smart grid is a banner for many products, including hardware, like smart meters and capacitors, and software, like geospatial information systems and demand-side response. The smart grid is not "one" product, but rather, a solution suite of products and software technologies improving the grid's overall performance.
About Pacific Gas and Electric Company
Pacific Gas and Electric Company, a subsidiary of PG&E Corporation (NYSE:PCG), is one of the largest combined natural gas and electric utilities in the United States. Based in San Francisco, with 20,000 employees, the company delivers some of the nation's cleanest energy to 15 million people in northern and central California. For more information, visit www.pge.com/about/.
PG&E retains a license agreement that permits the use of the SmartMeter™ trademark, which is a registered trademark of SmartSynch, Inc.
About GE Energy
GE Energy (www.ge.com/energy) is one of the world's leading suppliers of power generation and energy delivery technologies, with 2007 revenue of $22 billion. Based in Atlanta, Georgia, GE Energy works in all areas of the energy industry including coal, oil, natural gas and nuclear energy; renewable resources such as water, wind, solar and biogas; and other alternative fuels. Numerous GE Energy products are certified under ecomagination, GE's corporate-wide initiative to aggressively bring to market new technologies that will help customers meet pressing environmental challenges.
About GE
GE (NYSE: GE) is a diversified global infrastructure, finance and media company that is built to meet essential world needs. From energy, water, transportation and health to access to money and information, GE serves customers in more than 100 countries and employs more than 300,000 people worldwide. GE is Imagination at Work. For more information, visit the company's Web site at http://www.ge.com.
Howard Masto
Masto Public Relations
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Gina DeRossi
Soteryx Corporation
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Margaret Chapman
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