Focus is on building an industry-leading gas and electric
infrastructure for the future
SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--
Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) is continuing its progress on
improving the safety and reliability of its service, as well as on
efforts to keep its bills affordable and to create a cleaner, more
sustainable energy future for California, the company said today at its
annual shareholders meeting.
“PG&E’s vision is to be the leading utility in the country. We’ve made
huge strides in our operations over the past several years, and our
customers are seeing a positive difference in their experience with us.
The future is very bright for our company, our customers and
California,” said PG&E Corporation Chairman, CEO and President Tony
Earley.
PG&E President Chris Johns said: “PG&E is preparing today to serve our
customers in Northern and Central California for the long term—including
investing in new capabilities that will enable a smarter, more flexible
grid of the future. With our continued investments, PG&E is helping
California make real progress for the environment, our economy and the
vitality of our local communities.”
Earley and Johns pointed to several examples of PG&E’s progress:
-
Gas certifications: PG&E was designated as a best-in-class
gas system operator by the independent auditor Lloyd’s Register,
which determined that PG&E qualified for two of the most respected
international safety certifications—known as the ISO 55001 and PAS
55-1 standards. PG&E is one of the first gas utilities to receive both
certifications.
-
Fast emergency response: PG&E is now in the top 10 percent of
U.S. utilities for the speed of its response when customers call to
report smelling natural gas.
-
Advanced leak detection: The utility is using state-of-the-art
gas leak
detection technology, including vehicle-mounted devices that are
1,000 times more sensitive for finding leaks than previous technology.
-
Open culture: The culture at PG&E encourages employees to raise
issues or concerns about safety or compliance.
-
Record reliability: In 2014, PG&E set a company record
for electric reliability for the sixth year in a row—meaning fewer
and shorter outages for customers. This came despite strong winter
storms and the Napa earthquake, the most powerful quake in PG&E’s
service area in 25 years.
-
Cleaner energy: PG&E delivers energy that is among the cleanest
of any utility in the nation. In 2014, 27 percent of its customers’
electricity came from solar, wind and other renewable energy
resources, putting PG&E on track to meet California’s 33 percent goal
by 2020. Combined with hydroelectric and nuclear resources, more than
half of PG&E’s power comes from sources that emit no greenhouse gases.
-
Customer choice: PG&E has interconnected more than 165,000
solar rooftops—more than any other utility in the country by a wide
margin. Also, PG&E won approval for a new program that will give
customers a choice to purchase 100
percent renewable power.
-
Higher satisfaction: PG&E’s customer satisfaction improved last
year to the highest level since 2009.
Utility of the Future
Looking forward, PG&E plans continued investments and progress. For
example, the utility recently
announced its support of California Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr.’s
goal to reduce greenhouse gas emissions 40 percent below 1990 levels by
2030.
In addition, the pending Gas Transmission and Storage Rate Case focuses
on work to help achieve some of the nation’s toughest safety standards
and add capacity to support economic growth.
PG&E is also modernizing the electric grid to allow for the accelerating
growth of energy technologies, from renewables and battery storage to
electric vehicles and smart appliances. The utility envisions building a Grid
of ThingsTM that serves as the platform for integrating
and maximizing the benefits of all of these technologies.
At the same time, PG&E is also focused on keeping its service affordable
for customers. Beyond industry-leading programs to encourage customers’
energy efficiency, PG&E is working with state regulators to reform
residential electricity rates. The utility is also pursuing
initiatives to improve the efficiency of its operations.
“I believe that no utility is better prepared to make the most of the
opportunities that lie ahead for our customers and investors—or more
determined to lead the way forward in this new era of energy innovation
and growth—than PG&E. We look forward to continuing on this journey and
working together to build a better California,” Earley said.
The meeting concluded with a report on the preliminary results of the
shareholder vote on the items of business. Preliminary voting results
indicate that all members of the boards of directors of PG&E Corporation
and its utility subsidiary, Pacific Gas and Electric Company, will be
re-elected for a one-year term; the re-appointment of the companies’
independent registered public accounting firm, Deloitte & Touche LLP,
will be ratified; the companies’ executive compensation will be approved
on an advisory basis; and a proposal submitted by a PG&E Corporation
shareholder concerning an independent board chairman will not be
approved. Final voting results will be reported in a Form 8-K Report to
be filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission and will be
available on the companies’ websites.
About PG&E
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 more than 20,000 employees, the company delivers some of the
nation’s cleanest energy to nearly 16 million people in Northern and
Central California. For more information, visit www.pge.com/
and www.pge.com/en/about/newsroom/index.page.
http://www.pgecurrents.com/
http://www.facebook.com/pacificgasandelectric
https://twitter.com/pge4me
http://www.linkedin.com/company/pacific-gas-and-electric-company
http://www.youtube.com/user/pgevideo
Source: Pacific Gas and Electric Company