June 29
SMUD Offers Electrification Rebates
Top consumer smart grid news hand-selected and brought to you by the Smart Energy Consumer Collaborative.
Member News
For homeowners in the greater Sacramento area, it just became easier to buy or convert to an all-electric home. Greentech Media reported earlier this month on local governments in California updating their building codes to encourage all-electric homes. Now, SMUD has moved to offer rebates to install heat pumps, induction cooktops and other electrification upgrades.
SECC and GBA are the first organizations to join the DataGuard Energy Data Partnership Program. The DataGuard Partnership Program offers a formalized way for member-based organizations to indicate their support for the DataGuard consumer privacy concepts and principles. DataGuard is a voluntary program that provides high-level principles around the treatment, retention and disposal of customer data.
SCE recently filed a proposal to expand its Charge Read pilot, which has already installed 1,000 electric vehicle charging stations in the utility's territory. The $760 million expansion plan would aim for 48,000 charging stations over four years. By the end of this year, SCE expects to have rolled out 1,250 charging stations at more than 60 locations, through the Charge Ready pilot.
CPS Energy has been recognized by the APPA for implementing innovative energy efficient techniques and technologies for its customers. The energy provider to more than 804,000 electric and 343,000 gas customers has received the APPA’s 2018 Energy Innovator Award. The award recognizes utilities for employing innovation to provide consumers with better services, as well as for increasing the efficiency of utility operations.
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Industry News
The energy dynamic around renewables is changing so quickly in Colorado that Zach Pierce, a senior campaign representative for the Sierra Club, can hardly keep up with it. “I feel like we’re having to rewrite the talking points on the drawing board every month in Colorado,” he said. In December, Xcel Energy released a report summarizing the responses to a solicitation to power suppliers for bids to bring new sources of electricity to the grid.
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced recently a comprehensive state energy storage roadmap – 1,500 MW by 2025, as a first step toward a larger goal by 2030. The roadmap's recommendations range from using the previously announced $200 million investment from the NY Green Bank for strategic storage-related projects, along with changes to wholesale market rules, regulatory changes to utility rates and more.
In its latest “New Energy Outlook”, Bloomberg New Energy Finance describes a world where the energy system looks fundamentally different from today. But that doesn’t mean natural gas won’t have a place. While renewables will dominate the generation mix, Seb Henbest, lead author and BNEF’s head of Europe, Middle East and Africa, said gas peakers will remain an integral part of the landscape.
When I suggested a chatbot, such as Alexa or Google Assistant, for my Mom’s upcoming 95th birthday, I was met with skepticism from both my siblings. But now, after six months, they enthusiastically support the technology. The chatbot has empowered our Mom, whose hearing and sight are failing. Instead of needing to wait for assistance to turn on the news, listen to music or be reminded of the upcoming bingo game, Mom now simply talks to Alexa.
