SAN DIEGO, May 10, 2007 (PRIME NEWSWIRE) -- San Diego Gas & Electric today honored six of its business customers for saving money and helping the environment through energy efficiency in their facility design and operations. QUALCOMM, The Burnham Institute for Medical Research, Sweetwater Union High School District, Teamwork Athletic Apparel, The Ranch House at Del Sur and American Lighting Supply were named "Energy Champions" in recognition of their efforts to reduce their energy use and impacts on the environment.
"These companies are helping to make our communities cleaner, greener places to work and live," said Debra L. Reed, SDG&E president and chief executive officer. "SDG&E is ready to help businesses of all sizes find a quick return on investment for reducing their energy use through incentives and lower costs for years to come."
SDG&E presented the awards at its second annual Energy Showcase today. The event was held to raise awareness of the utility's record $150 million in energy-efficiency rebates and incentives available to business customers this year. San Diego Mayor Jerry Sanders delivered the event's keynote address, which focused on the city's recently announced EP3 initiative. The initiative requires city departments to consider environmental criteria in their purchasing.
QUALCOMM was named Large Commercial/Industrial Energy Champion for its integration of efficiency measures into the design of its facilities since 1993. The company has implemented energy-wise features that have reduced energy consumption by millions of kilowatt-hours -- saving hundreds of thousands of dollars per year across QUALCOMM's more than 4 million square feet of office space in San Diego.
The Burnham Institute for Medical Research, also a Large Commercial/Industrial Energy Champion, retrofitted the nine buildings on its La Jolla research campus to align temperature-control systems via a technologically advanced network custom-designed for the facility. The company reports monthly energy cost savings of as much as $50,000.
Sweetwater Union High School District, the Mid-Size Commercial/Industrial Energy Champion, retrofitted 20 of its 29 schools with a range of energy-efficient features, including new lighting, heating/AC systems, programmable thermostats and other measures. The upgrades will save the district more than $650,000 per year in energy costs.
San Marcos-based Teamwork Athletic Apparel, the Small Business Champion, replaced its warehouse lighting with a system that uses less energy and produces less heat, which, in turn, reduces the amount of air conditioning used. The retrofit project also included installing low energy-use exit signs, programmable thermostats and lighting timers. These conversions save Teamwork more than 52,000 kilowatt-hours of electricity and $8,000 in electricity costs annually.
The Ranch House at Del Sur master-planned community was named Sustainable Communities Champion for its eco-friendly, energy-efficient design and construction. The solar-powered community center was built largely from recycled material, including lumber salvaged from the Portland pier, insulation made from discarded blue jeans, oak flooring taken from an old barn, cabinets made from compressed wheat waste and countertops made of recycled sunflower shells.
American Lighting Supply was the Energy Services Champion for its successful retrofitting of more than 25,000 San Diego commercial and industrial facilities with energy-efficient lighting. In all, the company's lighting projects reduced these customers' electricity use by more than 13.5 million kilowatt-hours last year and saved a total of more than $2 million on their energy bills.
SDG&E offers a wide range of energy-efficiency programs that can benefit companies of all sizes. To learn how to qualify, businesses can log on to www.sdge.com/business, contact their account representatives from SDG&E, or call (800) 411-SDGE.
SDG&E currently serves 3.4 million consumers through 1.4 million electric meters and more than 830,000 natural gas meters. The utility's service area spans 4,100 square miles and serves customers in more than 125 communities from Southern Orange County to the Mexican border. SDG&E is a regulated subsidiary of Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE). Sempra Energy, based in San Diego, is a Fortune 500 energy services holding company. To learn more, go to www.sdge.com.