Energy San Diego

Why does Southern California Edison, the electric company for much of Los Angeles and Orange counties, want to merge with San Diego Gas & Electric, the utility serving the area directly south of Edison's? The answer, strangely enough, is competitive reasons. SCEcorp, as the Edison company now calls itself, is afraid that if San Diego Gas completes a merger with Tucson Electric Power Co., an aggressive Arizona utility, that merged company would begin poaching its customers.

Tom Day sees a lot to love about his family's brand new house. Perched in a high-end subdivision on this city's booming northeast fringe, the dun-hued Mediterranean boasts a castle-turret entry, a lofty master suite, a mesa-top view. But aesthetics aren't all that attracted Day. His new home will also help pay the power bill.

California regulators look set to require that the state's three investor-owned utilities continue to buy all their power through the California Power Exchange, or CalPX. The ruling could be made at a California Public Utilities Commission meeting Thursday, although sources close to the PUC suggested that controversy about a separate but related matter could delay a decision.

California regulators look set to require that the state's three investor-owned utilities continue to buy all their power through the California Power Exchange, or CalPX. The ruling could be made at a California Public Utilities Commission meeting Thursday, although sources close to the PUC suggested that controversy about a separate but related matter could delay a decision.

Utility regulators have approved $350 million in rebates to encourage Californians to install water-heating systems powered by solar energy. The state Public Utilities Commission on Thursday established the California Solar Initiative Thermal Program, which will be funded using $250 million to replace natural-gas-powered water heaters, with $25 million set aside for low-income customers. An additional $100.8 million will be used to swap out water heaters powered by electricity. The rebates could reduce the cost of a solar water heater by 15% to 25%, industry experts said.

Situated in the southeastern corner of California, bordering Arizona and Mexico, Imperial County has long depended on agriculture and cash crops that grew from the good earth. But lately the region - which carries the dubious distinction of having the state's highest unemployment rate at 25.5% - is betting its future on a different kind of farm: green energy. Spurred by a state mandate that requires utilities to get a third of their electricity from green sources by 2020, renewable energy companies are leasing or buying thousands of acres in Imperial County to convert to energy farms providing power for coastal cities - bringing an estimated 6,000 building jobs and billions in construction activity to the county.

Tom Day sees a lot to love about his family's brand new house. Perched in a high-end subdivision on this city's booming northeast fringe, the dun-hued Mediterranean boasts a castle-turret entry, a lofty master suite, a mesa-top view. But aesthetics aren't all that attracted Day. His new home will also help pay the power bill.

Sempra Energy's San Diego Gas & Electric utility got California regulatory approval for a $572-million plan to upgrade customer meters with equipment that will provide more data on energy consumption. San Diego Gas & Electric plans to install about 1.4 million advanced electric meters and upgrade 900,000 natural gas meters by the first quarter of 2011.

Genentech Inc. said that Mark Richmond would resign Oct. 31 from its board of directors and that energy executive Debra L. Reed became a member this week. Richmond, 74, a senior research fellow in science policy at the University College of London, has been a Genentech director since 1999. Reed is chief operating offer of Sempra Energy's San Diego Gas & Electric Co. and Southern California Gas Co.

Sempra Energy's San Diego Gas & Electric said it reached a compromise with consumer advocates on a proposal to spend $572 million on advanced meters. Advanced meters contain communications equipment that enables the utility to record energy consumption data remotely, eliminating the need for workers to read the meters manually. The meters also may provide consumers with detailed data about power consumption.

Why does Southern California Edison, the electric company for much of Los Angeles and Orange counties, want to merge with San Diego Gas & Electric, the utility serving the area directly south of Edison's? The answer, strangely enough, is competitive reasons. SCEcorp, as the Edison company now calls itself, is afraid that if San Diego Gas completes a merger with Tucson Electric Power Co., an aggressive Arizona utility, that merged company would begin poaching its customers.

Sempra Energy's San Diego Gas & Electric said it probably would fall short of California's renewable energy goals, which could subject it to fines of as much as $25 million. SDG&E, which provides electricity to 1.4 million homes and businesses in Southern California, will be unable to get 20% of its power supplies from renewable energy sources such as wind turbines and solar panels by 2010, as mandated by a state law, the company said in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.