Public voting for the best energy-saving app for smart phones and tablets is now open.

More than 50 software developers submitted entries in the Energy Department’s $100,000 Apps for Energy contest, sponsored by PG&E.

And now the public gets to pick their favorite.

Click here to vote.

Announced in Washington, D.C., in March, the Apps for Energy contest promises $100,000 for the best energy-savings apps as picked by a panel of experts and by the general public. Starting April 5, developers could submit the best applications for smart phones, tablets and other devices. The deadline for submissions was May 15.

Just looking at the list of the names of the some of the apps – WattEase, the EcoDog Green Button Calculator, Lighter Footprints and Sparkwire – speaks to the creativity of the developers. Most of the entries offer websites to explain their app, and some include amusing and informative videos, too.

The Apps for Energy Contest is the result of PG&E’s pioneering launch of an online “green button,” which allows customers with SmartMeters to easily download their personal energy information—in a standardized format—that can be used by third-party developers to create innovative energy-saving ideas.

The best apps, as chosen by a panel of experts, will be announced next week, at the Connectivity Week 2012 conference in Santa Clara. Todd Park, the new U.S. chief technology officer, will join Karen Austin, PG&E’s CTO and senior vice president, at the event.

Public voting for the best apps runs through June 6.

AVILA BEACH – A visit to PG&E’s Diablo Canyon Nuclear Power Plant already was an impressive agenda for a school field trip, but some of the nearly 100 students and teachers from a Central Valley middle school got an added bonus.

They saw the Pacific Ocean for the first time.

Middle-school students toured Diablo Canyon, and got to participate in a demonstration with the plant’s firefighters. (Photo by John Lindsey.)

The group, from La Vina Middle School, toured Diablo Canyon on May 15. The school is located in Delano, a small culturally diverse farming community along Highway 99 in the San Joaquin Valley.

For a few students, it was the first time they had seen the Pacific Ocean. And, for all of them, it was the first time they had visited a nuclear power plant.

The students and teachers gathered at the PG&E Energy Education Center here for a short safety presentation and to learn how the plant works.

Then, they boarded two large buses and went through the front gate near Port San Luis with its numerous boats moored along the shoreline. The two buses drove nearly seven miles along the spectacular Pecho Coastline to the power plant.  They saw the rugged shoreline and spectacular views of the dynamic interface between ocean and land.

The students had lunch in the Diablo Canyon training building, than toured the simulator—a replica of the power plant’s Unit One control room. They saw firsthand how plant operators spend 20 percent of their time in training.  Afterwards, they toured the intake and outfall structures, which offered unique views of marine life along the Central Coast.

However, the highlight of the power plant tour was the PG&E Diablo Canyon Fire Station. PG&E firefighters demonstrated firefighting and first-aid techniques.  The students and teachers toured the firefighting trucks, the station and operated a small hose and nozzle under the watchful eyes and close guidance from PG&E firefighters.

The tour was clearly a hit and an unforgettable experience.  Many students asked what they needed to do to become a firefighter, marine biologist or engineer.

Abel Lopez, a math and science teacher at La Vina, agreed that the field trip was a great complement to his classroom instruction.

“The fact that we teach them and take them out into the environment makes them really understand it,” he said.

Each year, about 2,500 visitors tour Diablo Canyon Power Plant, which provides safe, clean energy for 3 million California residents. That includes 125 tour groups. Schools, clubs and other organizations interested in touring the plant can find more information at www.DiabloCanyonPGE.com or by calling (805) 546-5280

Email John Lindsey at john.lindsey@pge.com.

And now, with 93 percent of SmartMeter installations complete across Northern and Central California, most of PG&E’s customers have access to energy- and cost-saving benefits of SmartMeters, including faster detection and power outage restoration, as well as easy-to-use tools that can lower energy bills.

“SmartMeters are helping improve the customer experience,” Helen Burt, senior vice president and chief customer officer at PG&E, said Tuesday (May 15). “In addition to detecting outages, our customers are telling us how SmartMeters are making their homes more energy efficient and helping to reduce their bills. That’s always exciting to hear and we continue to encourage our customers to take advantage of SmartMeter usage data to help save energy and money.”

One of those customers is Tom Lyons, a self-described “energy detective,” who told his story to Currents. The San Jose homeowner enlisted his family to use information from his SmartMeter to reduce electric usage by about 20 percent.

With the new meters connected to the smart grid, customer have access to a wide range of energy- and cost-saving tools, including energy analysis, energy alerts and voluntary rate programs.

Balch Powerhouse and Balch Afterbay are located on the North Fork Kings River, about 40 miles northeast of Fresno. (Photo by James Park.)

SAN FRANCISCO—Generating electricity from falling water has been around so long that some might not realize it’s as clean and renewable an energy source as solar or wind power.

In fact, hydropower accounts for 8 percent of electricity in the United States. That’s more than double all the other sources of renewables combined.

Yet, by definition in California, PG&E’s hydro powerhouses that produce more than 30 megawatts (representing more than 90 percent of PG&E’s total hydropower) don’t qualify as renewable under the state’s renewable portfolio standards (RPS).

But, says PG&E’s David Moller, all hydropower is “inherently renewable.”

Moller is a director in PG&E’s power generation department and a leader nationally on hydroelectric issues. He was just re-elected as president of the National Hydropower Association.

“If you had a hydro powerhouse on a river somewhere and it was 29 megawatts and right across the river you had another one that was 31 megawatts, one qualifies as RPS renewable and one does not, and yet they’re equally renewable,” said Moller.

Read more about David Moller.

By 2020, the state of California has required that PG&E and other electric utilities get a third of their electricity from eligible renewable sources, such as wind, solar and geothermal. Only small hydro counts (facilities with less than 30 megawatts) toward that RPS requirement as a way to stimulate new sources of renewable power.

Nearly four decades with PG&E

Moller, who has worked for nearly four decades for PG&E, helps run the country’s largest privately-owned hydropower systems, some of which dates to the California Gold Rush.

“It is totally taken for granted because it’s been around for a long time,” Moller said. “Hydropower is such an ingrained part of the power generation infrastructure for PG&E and nationally.”

PG&E’s 68 powerhouses from Redding to Bakersfield provide nearly 4,000 megawatts of safe, reliable and renewable energy—enough electricity to power 4 million homes.

The Haas Powerhouse, in Kings County, generates 144 megawatts of electricity. (Photo by James Park).

While generating power from water has not changed much over the past century, the rules that hydroelectric operators must follow have. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission licenses the powerhouses, with each license lasting typically 30 to 50 years. Today, renewing a license requires an incredibly thorough and lengthy review of all impacts to affected resources, especially the land and waterway. This is where much of PG&E’s work takes place—balancing power generation needs with sound environmental stewardship, including the interests of conservationists, area businesses, whitewater rafters and others.

Since 2001, PG&E has completed the relicensing process for nine of its 26 licenses and is currently negotiating to renew seven others.

“It’s very challenging because everybody has different interests,” said Moller. “But PG&E is looked at as a national leader in reaching collaborative agreements. We’re very well known for really working hard to find these balanced solutions.”

PG&E’s hydro powerhouses range in age from 25 to over 110 years, with most built in the first half of the 20^th century. Regardless of the age of the facilities, renewing a license involves re-balancing use of the resources in the context of current social priorities.

Balancing environmental interests

PG&E’s Battle Creek hydro facility in Tehama County exemplifies this give-and-take process. Working with federal and state resource agencies, as well as conservation groups, the utility is voluntarily removing or modifying several dams and has agreed to give up some of its hydropower generation to help with the recovery of endangered salmon.

A construction crew in Tehama County works on a PG&E project to give up some hydropower to benefit endangered salmon. (Photo by David Kligman.)

“We are opening up 48 miles of premier salmon spawning habitat,” Moller said. “It was a case where we produced a relatively small amount of hydropower, but there was the potential to do something really beneficial for the environment.  It’s a great success story and it’s a good example of who we are as a company.”

As president of the National Hydropower Association, Moller actively engages on hydropower issues of national importance.

“My focus is on figuring out how hydropower can help even more to be part of the solution to meet our country’s clean energy goals,” Moller said. “Hydropower is an essential tool in the clean energy toolbox. It already does a lot, and it can do much more.”

Retrofitting existing dams a huge potential

The potential for hydropower growth in the United States is huge, Moller says, in part because most existing dams don’t produce hydroelectricity. Less than 3 percent of the nation’s 80,000 dams have power-generation facilities.

“When people think of hydropower they think of large dams,” Moller said. “And yet there’s tremendous growth potential by basically retrofitting what’s already there, especially the federal dams.”

Retrofitting can include adding hydropower generation to existing non-power dams or efficiency improvements to old equipment to get more power. That’s what PG&E is doing with its 1950s-era Rock Creek powerhouse on the Feather River in Butte County. PG&E is increasing the output by 11 megawatts simply by upgrading the existing equipment.

And, Moller adds, “That 11 megawatts qualifies as RPS renewable.”

For PG&E, Moller pointed to three major themes guiding hydropower operations:

• Be a responsible environmental steward: “It’s a privilege to be able to use these resources for power generation. And we take that very, very seriously.”
• Keep the projects running: “From a societal standpoint, it’s a clean way to produce energy.”
• Grid reliability important: “The operating flexibility of hydropower is essential to grid reliability and integrating intermittent renewables like wind and solar. And hydro pumped storage continues to be the only grid-scale energy storage technology (like Helms, where energy is stored during off-peak hours and can be used during peak periods).”

E-mail David Kligman at david.kligman@pge.com.

PG&E’s David Moller (above the Pit River) says hydropower is sometimes taken for granted because it has been around for so long.

PG&E’s director of power generation has spent more than three decades devoted to hydropower—and it began largely by chance.

David Moller was studying civil engineering at the University of California, Berkeley, in 1974 when he spent a summer as an intern at PG&E. He was randomly assigned to the hydro team, where he heard about the upcoming project to build a pumped storage plant at Helms, a remote location high in the Sierra Nevada Mountains.

Read more about PG&E’s hydropower system.

When he graduated, he accepted a job with the utility and asked to be part of the onsite team designing and building the Helms facility, which today provides critical electricity for nearly 1 million customers.

So what was it like being part of such an historic project?

“It was kind of a wild environment,” said Moller. “There were the miners, the loggers. There were fights in the local bar. It was kind of like turning back the clock in a lot of ways. I would cross-country ski to work some days. The first two years I lived in a 20-foot travel trailer with as much as 15 feet of snow on the ground.”

–David Kligman

“The Green Option is simple to understand, simple to utilize and provides an easy opportunity for businesses, governments and residents to reduce their carbon footprint through 100 percent green energy,” wrote Carl Guardino, the long-time president and CEO of the SVLG

PG&E is already one of the cleanest utilities in the country and one of the largest suppliers of renewable energy. More than 50 percent of its electricity comes from sources that are renewable or free of greenhouse gas emissions.

The voluntary Green Option, if approved as proposed, would cost the average participating residential customer only about $6 a month—the price of a few cups of coffee.

Click here to read Guardino’s column.

The pursuit of clean energy means more than powering your big-screen TV from solar panels. In much of the world, it can be as basic as finding a way to cook dinner without toxic smoke poisoning your family.

The World Health Organization ranks indoor air pollution as one of the world’s leading killers, on a par with malaria and tuberculosis. Particularly at risk are mothers and infants in the developing world who are exposed daily to smoke and other pollutants from open fires and dirty cookstoves.

Pioneering research by public health experts at the University of California at Berkeley confirms the significance of this threat. They reported last fall that children in homes with smoke-reducing chimneys on their cookstoves suffered one-third fewer cases of pneumonia, a remarkable improvement.

Improved cookstoves can reduce pollution and create healthier conditions for many third-world families. (Photo by The Berkeley Graduate.)

“The amount of smoke exposure babies were getting from the open wood fire stoves is comparable to having them smoke three to five cigarettes a day,” said Kirk Smith, the lead researcher and professor of global environmental health at UC Berkeley.

In a separate study, the team found that pregnant mothers regularly exposed to smoke from open fires gave birth to infants who performed significantly worse by ages 6 and 7 on key developmental tests that predict IQ, educational attainment, and lifetime earnings.

There are plenty of other reasons for cleaning up the world’s cookstoves. More efficient stoves would reduce the need for fuel and slow deforestation. The black soot from dirty stoves and other sources also has been implicated by climate researchers as a major driver of global warming as it absorbs solar radiation in the air and on land, including snow banks and glaciers.  Stanford University scientist Mark Jacobson reported last summer that reducing soot emissions could slow Arctic warming faster than any other measure.

So far, however, no one has found the silver bullet—an inexpensive, proven cookstove technology that could be rapidly deployed around the world to improve the lives of hundreds of millions of people.

A study published last month of several “improved cookstoves” found widespread variation in soot emissions, and some even performed worse than traditional mud cookstoves. Another study released this month shows that Indian villagers given inexpensive “clean” stoves often failed to use or maintain them properly, resulting in no measurable improvement in pollution levels or their health.

“The study is a reminder that public health is a tricky business,” commented Brian Palmer in the Washington Post. “Just because a solution works in a laboratory — or among a small group of closely watched test subjects — doesn’t mean it should be rolled out to 100 million households.”

That gloomy conclusion only underscores the importance of further research. The Obama administration has enthusiastically supported the public-private Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves, which is sponsoring further field studies in Ghana, Kenya, and Nepal. The Department of Energy this month also put up another $2.5 million for new technology studies.

“Although significant progress has already been achieved in designing cookstoves with reduced emissions and increased efficiency, many challenges remain to develop high performing technologies that are also affordable, durable, easy-to-use, and meet international indoor air quality guidelines,” said Energy Secretary Steven Chu.

Email Jonathan Marshall at jonathan.marshall@pge.com.

“Our goal is to have the safest operations in the country,” Johns said. “Our customers won’t accept anything less, and neither will we.”

He identified actions taken by PG&E’s gas, electric and nuclear operations to improve safety.

In this video, Johns also speaks about reliability improvements and how PG&E is using technology to make energy more affordable for its customers.

In his remarks, Earley talked about his priorities for the company, what has been accomplished and what still needs to be done.

“The past couple years have been some of the most difficult in PG&E’s long history, as a result of the San Bruno accident and its aftermath,” Earley said. “In response, we’ve initiated sweeping changes across the company – starting with a clear commitment to safety as our absolute highest priority.

Earley talked about those changes, including adding new senior executives, and separating the company’s gas and electric business to improve accountability and expertise.

Also, in this video, Earley talks about the importance of rebuilding relationships with customers, policy makers, business partners and others.

“Our objective is to win back customers and their trust one step at a time,” he said.

Tony Earley, PG&E’s chairman, CEO and president, talked about his priorities at the news conference. He was joined by Roger Frizzell, PG&E’s chief communications officer, at left. (Photo by Linda Cicero.)

Tony Earley, chairman, CEO and president of the PG&E Corporation, met with reporters today (May 14) prior to the company’s annual shareholders meeting in San Francisco.

In his remarks, Earley shared what he was going to tell the company’s shareholders, including his priorities and his sense of the progress being made by PG&E.

PG&E, he said, will focus on three things this year:

• Resolving regulatory and legal issues resulting from the San Bruno tragedy
• Positioning PG&E for long-term success
• Rebuilding relationships with customers, regulators and other stakeholders

Earley’s opening remarks from that news conference can be seen in this video.

Tony Earley talked to the San Francisco Chronicle about his inpressions of PG&E and his priorities.

In an interview with the San Francisco Chronicle, PG&E’s Chairman, CEO and President Tony Earley talked about what he’s seen so far at the company and where he thinks the company needs to focus going forward.

Besides his attention to the company’s gas and electric operations, Earley told the Chronicle that the company needs to focus on the customer, not the money.

“Because my theory is, if you provide great service to customers, the financials will fall into place. You can’t work it the other way around.”

Earley joined PG&E as in mid-2011 after a long career with utilities in Michigan and New York.

Changes needed to be made, and have been, Earley said, but he also was impressed with PG&E’s employees.

“I found that one of the strongest resources this company has is its employee base. They’re incredibly dedicated. And it’s a very capable workforce,” he said.

And Earley noted the importance of utilities to the American economy and job growth. “This is an incredibly important industry for this country,” he said.

The interview, published today (May 12), was conducted by Chronicle staff writer David R. Baker and Business Editor Kevin Keane

Gail Nelson, left, nominated friend and PG&E co-worker Connie Bennett to be an Honorary Bat Girl, a program by Major League Baseball to raise awareness of breast cancer. (Photos by Tracy Correa.)

FRESNO - A longtime PG&E employee battling breast cancer – who has become an inspiration to her co-workers — is one of 30 winners of a Major League Baseball contest honoring women who are “going to bat” against the disease.

Connie Bennett, an operating clerk at the Resource Management Center in Fresno, is scheduled to be recognized at the San Francisco Giants baseball game on May 17 as part of the Honorary Bat Girl program. The program is a breast cancer awareness event sponsored by the league since 2009.

One winner per MLB club was selected to be recognized on Mother’s Day (May 13) or an alternate date if the team was not playing a home game that Sunday. Since the Giants are away on Mother’s Day, Bennett will be honored at the May 17 game.

Bennett said she is humbled to be named a contest winner.

“I don’t like the spotlight at all, but if it helps with awareness, well that’s OK,” she said. “I just want to get the word out and help everybody else.”

Gail Nelson, a PG&E co-worker and close friend, nominated Bennett.

“Connie is an inspiration to all of us,” wrote Nelson. Even through treatment, which included chemotherapy, a double-mastectomy and reconstructive surgeries, “Connie has never complained once to any of us of the ordeal she went through.”

Bennett, who has worked at PG&E for 33 years, has earned the respect of many because of her giving spirit.

Longtime PG&E employee Connie Bennett, who has breast cancer, will be honored at the May 17 San Francisco Giants game.

When she learned that some of her fellow cancer patients at California Oncology of the Central Valley were struggling to pay for food, gas and medicine, she sprang into action.

Last year, Bennett launched monthly bake sales at work and Bunco parties with friends, with proceeds going to buy gas and grocery store cards for needy cancer patients. The fundraisers have raised an estimated $12,000.

“One bake sale alone brought in $1300,” said Shannon Stephan, who oversees California Oncology’s food pantry.

Bennett, who is 53, also has encouraged friends and co-workers to get their annual mammograms. She said she doesn’t want anyone to go through what she has been through.

At the time Nelson submitted the nomination, Bennett was believed to be cancer-free. However, she learned recently that her cancer has spread and she’s now battling Stage 4 cancer.

Honorary Bat Girls take part in pre-game activities and also have a chance to meet the players. They receive pink MLB merchandise and two tickets to the game. Nelson will accompany Bennett to the game.

Judges for the contest included MLB players Joe Blanton, of the Philadelphia Phillies, whose mother is a breast-cancer survivor, and Barry Zito, of the San Francisco Giants, whose mother was affected by cancer.

As part of the effort to bring awareness to the fight against breast cancer on Mother’s Day, players will use pink bats with the breast cancer awareness logo and they’ll wear the symbolic pink ribbon on their uniforms and pink wrist bands.

Email Tracy Correa at tracy.correa@pge.com.

By Leonard Anderson

Two completed towers of the Golden Gate Bridge before the installation of the strait. (Photos from the holdings of the Golden Gate Bridge, Highway and Transportation District. Used with Permission. www.goldengate.org.)

SAN FRANCISCO – It is impossible. Skeptics warned that nature’s power would prevent the construction of a bridge to span the narrow passage into San Francisco Bay.

Water too deep. Strong ocean currents too powerful. High winds and dense fog create dangerous working conditions. Funds for the huge project are scarce in the Great Depression, and owners of large fleets of passenger ferryboats on the bay threaten to scuttle the project.

Yet, a bold team of engineers, architects, geologists, contractors, and some 4,000 laborers led by chief engineer Joseph Strauss overcame the obstacles and launched construction of the Golden Gate Bridge on Jan. 5, 1933, extending from Fort Point in San Francisco to Lime Point in Marin County. San Francisco and Bay Area counties approved $33 million in construction bonds backed by the Bank of America under financier A.P. Giannini.

Forty-one months later, on May 27, 1937, the 1.7-mile bridge opened as the world’s longest suspension bridge.

“During these 41 months, an epic of construction was played out,” wrote Kevin Starr, university professor and professor of history at the University of Southern California, state librarian of California emeritus, and author of  “Golden Gate, The Life and Times of America‘s Greatest Bridge.”

PG&E provided power on both ends

PG&E took the first steps toward construction of the bridge, erecting power lines on both sides of the bay passage to deliver electricity to service the contractors.

“Electricity, furnished by the PG&E, did a great share of the work, just as it did on the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge,” the P.G. and E. Progress monthly newspaper reported.

“Power usage totaled 4.5 million kilowatt hours — enough to supply all homes and businesses in a city of 6,000 for an entire year. Service was made possible by construction of several miles of temporary lines at both ends of the job,” the Progress noted.

“These lines will supply current to operate derricks, hoists, pumps, concrete mixers, air compressors and other motor-driven machinery in the various shops, to light buildings and roads,” the Progress reported, adding, “Later permanent service will be installed for the lighting system on the finished structure.”

The construction costs totaled $27,125,000.

On a more somber note, the bridge under construction took the lives of 11 men. Until Feb. 17, 1937, there had been only one fatality. On that day, 10 more men fell to their death when a scaffold fell onto safety nets and they failed. Through the construction, the nets saved the lives of 19 men who were called the members of the Halfway-to-Hell Club.

The new bridge also attracted attention to its reddish-orange color selected by the span’s architect, Irving Morrow, who felt that it blended with the bridge’s setting. The color is known as International Orange. (Today, 38 painters work on the bridge.)

According to the San Francisco Chronicle, one of the two surviving men who worked constructing the bridge is a former PG&E employee. Frank Hanly, now 96, was one of those who helped apply the original coats of paint on the bridge. He worked for PG&E from 1937 until 1978.

“The Golden Gate Bridge was very close to his heart,” a relative told the newspaper. “He was always very proud of that.”

On April 28, 1937, the last rivet, made of Sierra gold, was driven into the last span and the bridge that began as a madman’s dream had been finished, the Progress said.

Seven days of parties, pageantry

Much more was ahead. An elaborate “Golden Gate Bridge Fiesta” to celebrate the opening of the bridge featured seven days and nights of pageantry, music, and other entertainment throughout the San Francisco Bay Area.

Among the festivities:

• At least 150 warships sailed into the bay
• Two colorful cavalcades traveled from Canada and Mexico to meet at the bridge and be joined by others from Western states
• Nightly entertainment was presented by more than 3,000 actors and actresses
• San Francisco’s streets were decorated in blue and gold festoons.

The Marin Tower of the Golden Gate Bridge under construction in 1933.

On May 27, 1937, the span’s entire roadway was opened to excited walkers from dawn to dusk, beginning with 18,000 people waiting to cross at 6 a.m. An estimated 15,000 an hour passed the 25-cents turnstiles.

The Fiesta’s second day would be for automobiles. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt pressed a telegraph key in the White House declaring the span open to the entire world.

The Golden Gate Bridge was alive.

Last week: A celebration of a 75-year-old icon.

Next week: The spectacular 50^th anniversary event.

Email Currents at currents@pge.com.

Electric vehicle owners rejoice: PG&E has listened to customers and significantly lowered its proposed new prices for charging up.

Max Baumhefner, a staffer at the Natural Resources Defense Council, called PG&E’s advice letter to California regulators yesterday (May 9) “a good news story for Californians who are sick of paying high and volatile prices at the pump.”

PG&E listened to electric car owners and has offered a revised proposal for EV charging rates. (Photo by General Motors.)

As Baumhefner noted in his blog, drivers who replenish their batteries at night under the utility’s proposed new charging rate, when costs are low due to ample power capacity, will buy their energy “at a price that, in real dollars, is less than half what gas cost in 1949.” He pegs the cost at “roughly the equivalent of buck-a-gallon gasoline.”

Now that’s a game-changer.

Certain owners of plug-in vehicles today use PG&E’s E-9 rates, which have been around for years. They no longer cover the cost of service, and they make customers pay more for each kilowatt-hour of electricity they charge.

The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) asked PG&E to revise the old and complex E-9 rate, but PG&E’s first proposal last September didn’t go over well. In fact, it provoked 75 protests. Although the new proposal did away with rising price “tiers,” customers didn’t like the higher prices or the $8 monthly customer charge.

PG&E listened and went back to the drawing board. The new proposal now grandfathers in existing E-9 customers through the end of 2014. For the next few months, until the new rate plan takes effect, new customers will also pay E-9 rates.

If approved later this year, the new charging rate will eliminate tiered pricing, thus encouraging electric vehicle owners to juice up at home. It will cost users less than 10 cents a kilowatt-hour to charge during off-peak hours (11 p.m. to 7 a.m. weekdays, 7 p.m. to 7 a.m. weekends).

Compared to PG&E’s original proposal, it lowers both peak and off-peak rates by 12 percent, a substantial reduction, and extends off-peak hours on weekend days. It also eliminates the customer charge, though it includes a CPUC-required meter charge of $1.50 a month for customers who choose to meter their charger separately from their home.

PG&E’s new plan “addresses the concerns raised in those protest letters and should significantly improve the fundamental economics of vehicle electrification in a large portion of the Golden State,” Baumhefner wrote.

Customers who want to know more about plug-in vehicles, their cost, and what it takes to make homes charging-friendly, can visit www.pge.com/electricvehicles/. Customers can also call PG&E at 1-877-743-7782 to learn about options for getting their residence plug-in ready and start their application for service.

Email Jonathan Marshall at jonathan.marshall@pge.com.

Mountain pine beetles have wiped out 32 million acres of forest in British Columbia. (Photo by South Dakota Department of Agriculture.)

While environmentally conscious Californians recycle, carpool to work, and support clean energy to reduce their carbon footprint, irresponsible denizens of other states are busy overloading the atmosphere with greenhouse gases, threatening to accelerate global warming.

I refer not to SUV drivers in Arizona, but to small mountain pine beetles that are killing North American forests at a record rate. The insects, only 5 millimeters long, deposit their larvae along with a deadly fungus that kill pine trees within a matter of weeks.

A recent study from the University of Colorado, reported by the Climate Progress blog, comes to the frightening conclusion that warmer temperatures have allowed these destructive creatures to speed up their reproduction, resulting in “up to 60 times as many beetles attacking trees in any given year.” With shorter winters to hold them back, the beetles breed earlier and now hatch two generations a year instead of one.

In British Columbia alone the beetles have wiped out more than 32 million acres of forest. The decaying wood there “will release 990 million tons of CO₂ into the atmosphere, an amount equal to five times the annual emissions from all forms of transportation in the country,” the study notes.

Beetles are wreaking havoc from Canada to New Mexico. (Chart by U.S. Department of Agriculture.)

The beetles are wreaking havoc from the Yukon Territory to New Mexico, the largest infestation in history. Several years ago, scientists began warning that their impact on atmospheric carbon was already big enough to warrant including in global climate models.

Now, with beetle populations growing exponentially, scientists are reminded once again that dangerous feedback effects can accelerate the process of climate change. Studies of Earth’s geologic history show that warming Arctic conditions triggered rapid and extreme global warming millions of years ago.

“Similar dynamics are at play today,” said University of Massachusetts climate scientist Rob DeConto, who published a new study last month in the journal Nature. “Global warming is degrading permafrost in the north polar regions, thawing frozen organic matter, which will decay to release CO2 and methane into the atmosphere. This will only exacerbate future warming in a positive feedback loop.”

Email Jonathan Marshall at jonathan.marshall@pge.com.

The foothill yellow-legged frog, which lives in the North Fork of the Feather River and nearby tributaries, is listed as a species of special concern by the State of California and a sensitive species by the U.S. Forest Service.

An ecological group headed by the utility was assessing passage issues for frogs and fish near the Rock Creek-Cresta PG&E hydroelectric facility in Butte County last fall when it noticed a drain pipe too high for foothill yellow-legged frogs.

While frogs could exit the culvert pipe that emptied into the banks of North Fork of the Feather River, they could not get up into the pipe to reach the tributary.

“They’re very good climbers but there just wasn’t any connectivity from the ground to the culvert, so their only option was to go over the highway,” PG&E biologist Andie Herman said.

After members of the Rock Creek–Cresta Ecological Resources Committee discovered the situation, Herman and others came up with a plan. She worked with the Rodgers Flat Water Maintenance Crew on a way to help the frogs reach the 4-foot wide culvert pipe, which leads to a tributary on the other side of Highway 70 near the Plumas County line.

To remedy the problem, PG&E last week brought in a large pile of cobble boulder-sized rocks. Using a crane and steel bucket, crews delivered rocks to the culvert outlet. Rocks were piled by hand up to the edge of the pipe so frogs could enter into the culvert.

Caltrans assisted with traffic control.

PG&E crews worked to help frogs reach a tributary without having to cross Highway 70.

The work was completed in time for breeding season, when frogs leave tributaries to breed and lay eggs along the river. Afterward, they return to the shaded tributaries and are later followed by young frogs who transform from tadpoles.

The foothill yellow-legged frog lives in the North Fork of the Feather River and nearby tributaries. The frog is listed as a species of special concern by the State of California and a sensitive species by the U.S. Forest Service.

The Rock Creek–Cresta Ecological Resources Committee includes representatives from PG&E, U.S. Forest Service, California Department of Fish & Game, California Water Resources Control Board, Plumas County, American Whitewater and the California Sportfishing Protection Alliance.

Said Herman, “We’re very hopeful that this will be to their benefit and that they’ll love it and line up to use their new ramp.”

MC Hammer joined Merced City Council member Mike Murphy in judging the Innovation showcase at UC-Merced (Photos by Nicole Liebelt.)

MERCED – Working with PG&E, and highlighted by an appearance by musician MC Hammer, the University of California, Merced, held its inaugural “Innovate to Grow” showcase today (May 9).

Fourteen teams of engineering and management students pitched their projects to a panel of judges that included venture capitalists as well as representatives from PG&E, Southern California Edison and government agencies. The teams used posters, elevator pitches, videos and presentations to make their case.

The innovations being proposed by the student teams ranged from reducing noise in neonatal intensive care units to designing solar energy systems. One group developed a plan for an e-tractor for UC-Merced’s fleet services department. Another looked for ways to create biofuel from almond byproducts.

Judges included MC Hammer, a musician best known for his 1990 hit “U Can’t Touch This” and a UC-Merced board of trustee’s member; Michael Murphy, a Merced city council member; Tom Jones, a PG&E director of government relations; and others.

Several groups of engineering and management students made presentations to a panel of judges Wednesday at UC-Merced.

“This event is an example of how UC Merced’s cutting-edge research can be applied to problems faced by local and worldwide businesses,” said Dan Hirleman, head of UC-Merced’s school of engineering. “Four teams are already filing patents, a testament to our students’ extraordinary talent.”

The innovation showcase was just the most recent example of PG&E’s support of UC-Merced. PG&E has a five-year, $1 million partnership with UC-Merced’s School of Engineering.

PG&E, and its contractor, are working to demolish the old plant and clean up the site in Bakersfield.

BAKERSFIELD – On Tuesday (May 8), PG&E hosted an open house where customers and nearby businesses and residents could get information on the ongoing demolition of the Kern Power Plant and the cleanup of the site.

Bakersfield Mayor Harvey L. Hall was among the more than 40 people attending.

Held at Columbia Elementary School in northwest Bakersfield, the open house featured exhibits and representatives from PG&E and the contractor doing the demolition who answered questions about the process and the timetable.

PG&E also has announced that residents now have several available options to keep up with what’s happening at the site:

• Kern Power Plant demolition website.
• Kern Power Plant hotline, (661) 321-4467
• Kern Power Plant email address, kernpowerplant@pge.com

“We’re committed to continued open dialogue with the community throughout the process of dismantling the plant and cleaning up the property,” Katie Allen, a PG&E spokeswoman based in Bakersfield. “Our ultimate goal is for the site to become compatible with the surrounding uses and become an asset to that neighborhood.”

The Kern Power Plant operated in Bakersfield from 1948 until 1985.

The Kern Power Plant operated from 1948 until 1985 when it went into stand-by status. It was permanently closed in 2000. In 2011, PG&E made a public commitment to a multi-year, multi-phase plan to demolish the plant and clean up the site at the intersection of Coffee Road and Rosedale Highway. In March, PG&E announced that Cleveland Wrecking, a subsidiary of URS Corp., had been hired as the demolition contractor.

Fresno Mayor Ashley Swearengin spoke at a news conference and at the hearing on Tuesday. (Currents File Photo.)

FRESNO – Nearly 50 business leaders, elected officials and members of the general public at a hearing today (May 8) urged support of a proposed PG&E electric rate designed to spur economic growth and create new jobs in PG&E’s service area, particularly in those areas suffering from extreme unemployment.

Speakers at the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) public-participation hearing called the proposal — designed to provide reduced electric rates to qualified businesses — a powerful tool for creating much-needed jobs in areas that have continued to struggle economically.

“My city, with 40 percent unemployment in the last three years, has suffered dramatically,” said Mendota Mayor Robert Silva, in urging the commission to expedite the proposal’s passage.

Support from Fresno mayor, others

Before the afternoon hearing at Fresno City Hall, Fresno Mayor Ashley Swearengin, perhaps one of the most vocal proponents of the new rate proposal, held a press conference where she emphasized the plan’s benefits for Fresno and the region. She stood at the podium with a contingent of mayors from neighboring cities, just a sampling of the more than 30 local leaders in support of the proposal.

PG&E is asking state regulators for permission to offer a new electric rate aimed at helping to bring new jobs to California or to retain those already here. The new rate would apply to larger employers – PG&E electric customers with loads of 200 kilowatts or more – who can attest and credibly represent that they would otherwise locate or expand in other states, or cease operations in California.

The proposed economic development rate would reduce the electric rate for qualifying businesses by 12 percent for five years. An enhanced option, with a reduction of 35 percent, would apply in counties with unemployment rates that are at least 25 percent above the state average.

Fresno Bee endorses plan

The plan has received a significant amount of support from business leaders, elected officials and those tasked with economic development in the Valley. It has also been endorsed by The Fresno Bee, the Redding Record-Searchlight and The Modesto Bee.

Swearengin spoke first at the hearing, saying that high energy costs are a barrier to economic development.

“Everyone wins if there are more jobs. Everyone wins if there’s economic development,” she said in urging the CPUC to pass the proposal quickly. “Many jobs and many families are on the line.”

Madera Mayor Brett Frazier is one of those supporting the proposed rate.

“It’s simple: Jobs. Jobs. Jobs,” said Madera Mayor Brett Frazier, whose city suffers from unemployment just above 20 percent.

Ethan Smith, a Fresno commercial real estate agent, said that just yesterday, a business client he was courting backed out of locating in the area because of the high cost of doing business here. “Fresno lost 25 jobs,” he said, because the company chose Reno.

In surveys, company executives and site location consultants indicate that power costs are a significant factor in gauging how attractive an area is to do business.

The new economic development rate would replace an existing program that PG&E began offering in 2005. The rate reductions under the current program have declined over time and the program is scheduled to sunset at the end of 2012.

In all, 46 speakers addressed administrative law judge Richard Clark and CPUC commissioner Mark Ferron at the 2 p.m. hearing; a second session will take place later Tuesday. The Fresno hearings were the first of several hearings planned.

Email Tracy Correa at tracy.correa@pge.com.

SAN FRANCISCO—Welcome to the world, Perry, Sutro, Amelia and Electra.

Web viewers throughout the world have watched the birth and early lives of four baby falcons that hatched late March in a nest on a ledge high atop PG&E’s downtown headquarters.

Those young birds are nameless no more.

The birds, seen three weeks ago, are almost ready to fly. (Photo by Matt Nauman.)

After a contest that generated hundreds of names from PG&E customers, the utility today (May 8) proudly announced the names of the two female and two male hatchlings:

• Perry, named after a beloved longtime San Francisco police officer; fittingly the bird is marked with blue tape.
• Sutro, named after the cliffs of San Francisco’s onetime Sutro Baths.
• Amelia, named in honor of Amelia Earhart, the aviator hero.
• Electra, named after Earhart’s Electra twin-engine plane.

PG&E and the Santa Cruz Predatory Bird Research Group sponsored the naming contest and customers were invited to suggest names via Twitter.

More than 500 names were submitted and a social poll was taken at PG&E to narrow that list to 20. The bird research group then chose the final names. Names that didn’t make the cut included Swoop Dog, Frisco Feathers and even the character names from “I Love Lucy.”

The falcons—the offspring of Dapper Dan and Diamond Lil—have gained widespread attention because of a Web camera on the falcon nest. Viewers from around the world watched the falcons hatch, feedings from their parents and the banding of each falcon by Glenn Stewart, the director of the predatory bird group.

Stewart said he prefers to identify each of the baby falcons by their colored band. But he understands why naming the young birds has so much allure.

“There have been so many submissions and so many people care about the falcons,” Stewart told Currents. “That’s what I think is cool about it. It’s everything we wanted to accomplish with putting a camera on them. People see them, they become attached to them and they start to think about nature. It’s a gateway for conservation education.”

The next step in the falcon’s lives begins as early as Wednesday when they will begin to fly. Stewart said it takes about a week from the first time the birds fly until they’re confident in the air.

To protect the birds, UC Santa Cruz biologist Teague Scott and a team of volunteers will patrol the outside of PG&E’s building from dawn until dusk for 10 days. Their task is to take any of the hatchlings that flutter to the ground, walk them into the building, onto the high-rise elevator and place them on the ledge of the 33^rd floor.

The falcons will then roam for several years—peregrine translates to “wander” in Latin—until they find their own nest. Meanwhile, Dapper Dan and Diamond Lil or two other falcons will welcome their next offspring in the nest on the 33^rd floor of 77 Beale St. in early 2013.

Stewart sounded almost like a wistful parent as he described the young falcons growing up so fast.

“The really exciting thing is that last week they were babies,” he said. “Next week they’ll be flying away.”

E-mail David Kligman at david.kligman@pge.com.

PG&E’s $25,000 grant to the Prado Homeless Day Center will fund energy upgrades that will create a more comfortable environment for residents.

The money will allow the Prado Homeless Day Center to upgrade its heating and air conditioning system, install an additional air conditioning unit, replace windows and weather strip the facility. The projects will create a healthier and more comfortable environment for residents, reduce the facility’s carbon footprint and reduce energy expenses.

Jason Lal, facilities director for the Community Action Partnership of San Luis Obispo, said the grant is incredibly important since ever-present budget issues have kept the center from getting proper air conditioning.

“The use has gone up exponentially and that has pushed the system beyond its capability,” Lal told Currents. “It’s never cool like it’s supposed to be. Now it’s going to be a lot more comfortable for these folks and that’s important since for many of them it’s their one respite during the day to get out of the elements.”

In addition, an energy audit by PG&E found that the center is eligible for discounted rates—an annual saving of about $1,400. Several other Community Action Partnership sites, including the Maxine Lewis Memorial Shelter, the Child Care Center and a Head Start building also qualify for these discounted rates.

On Friday (May 4), PG&E’s Natalie Schaefer presented the grant to Dee Torres, homeless services director for the Prado Homeless Day Center, and Biz Steinberg, CEO of Community Action Partnership of San Luis Obispo County. Community Action Partnership staff also described the upgrades during a tour of the center with elected officials.

As part of the event, seven PG&E volunteers spent the day at the center painting the dining hall, children’s playroom and bathroom.

Nine months ago, nearly 3 million people in Southern California, Arizona and Baja California lost power for up to 12 hours on one of the hottest days of the year. Besides serving as a powerful reminder of the vital importance of electric service, a new report suggests, this preventable incident points to the importance of investing in the next generation of smart grid technology, an undertaking that PG&E is helping to lead in the western United States.

PG&E engineer Vahid Madani hosts industry experts at the utility’s synchrophasor test facility in San Ramon.

On Sept. 8, 2011, a small blunder by a substation technician with Arizona Public Service led to the shutdown of a major electric transmission line extending from Arizona to San Diego. Normally that loss would have been only an annoyance, but with temperatures hitting 115 degrees in the Imperial Valley, air conditioners throughout the region were on full throttle and the grid was maxed out.

Electricity flows shifted instantly, voltages began to deviate and “resulting overloads had a ripple effect as transformers, transmission lines and generating units tripped offline, initiating automatic load shedding throughout the region in a relatively short time span,” according to a recently published report by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission  and North American Electric Reliability Corporation.

Within about 11 minutes the entire region lost power.

“The disturbance occurred near rush hour, on a business day, snarling traffic for hours,” the report observes. “Schools and businesses closed, some flights and public transportation were disrupted, water and sewage pumping stations lost power, and beaches were closed due to sewage spills. Millions went without air conditioning on a hot day.”

According to this official analysis, various utilities and other grid operations lacked “adequate real-time situational awareness of conditions and contingencies throughout the Western Interconnection.” In other words, they didn’t see signs of grid disturbances in time to take preventive action and limit the scope of the outage.

PG&E has state-of-the-art test facilities in San Ramon for smart grid technology.

One of the most promising tools for improving “situational awareness” is a measuring device called a Phasor Measurement Unit (PMU). A PMU is a GPS-synchronized meter that allows grid operators to observe systemwide voltage and current conditions in real time. “PMUs are expected to be used to identify and monitor for grid stress, grid robustness, dangerous oscillations, frequency instability, voltage instability and reliability margins,” the report notes.

Several utilities, including PG&E, already have PMUs in operation, but they aren’t yet deployed in a fully integrated network across the Western grid. That’s why the Western Electricity Coordinating Council launched the Western Interconnection Synchrophasor Program in 2009. It plans to begin implementing a systemwide network this summer and have it fully operational by next spring.

Besides helping to prevent costly blackouts, this WECC project—the largest of its kind in the country—should help Western utilities make better use of transmission capacity and integrate more variable solar and wind energy onto the grid by helping to observe and manage their fluctuations.

PG&E is the largest single participant in the $108 million WISP program. WISP received $54 million in smart grid funding from the Department of Energy in 2010 under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to implement this system.

PG&E has begun deploying PMU technology at strategic substations across its grid. Because the technology is still relatively new, PG&E first created a state-of-the-art test facility in San Ramon to support the success of this rollout. Besides debugging individual devices, the facility is also providing data to help develop utility standards for PMUs. By replicating an actual network deployment, “the facility also serves as a training center for grid operators, similar to a flight simulator for pilots and astronauts,” says Vahid Madani, the PG&E engineer who oversees it.

As electric grids get bigger and more complex, they have to get smarter as well to stay reliable. PMUs are just one of many “smart grid” technologies that utilities like PG&E are investing in so customers don’t have to think twice when they turn the lights on.

E-mail Jonathan Marshall at jonathan.marshall@pge.com

SAN FRANCISCO—Elementary schoolteacher Kay Kirman constantly tells her students never to give up. It’s a lesson that can help them solve a math problem or even swing a golf club.

Jackson Tran of Jose Ortega Elementary School attempts a hole-in-one at Monday’s event. (Photos by David Kligman.)

Kirman’s students were among about 300 San Francisco schoolchildren who practiced putting, chipping and other golf skills today (May 7) at TPC Harding Park. The event was part of a PG&E-sponsored program that introduces youngsters to a game requiring values that can help them throughout their lives.

“We’re always trying to teach them perseverance,” said Kirman, a teacher at San Francisco’s Miraloma Elementary. “I’ve already seen them improve. Kids who were swinging and missing can now make contact with the ball. This is a sport they may do great at or they may fail. But I tell them to keep at it.”

This is the second year PG&E has financially contributed to the in-school program, one of the many ways the company gives back to the communities it serves. Over the past 10 years, the utility has invested $40 million in educational programs.

Giving back to education

On a beautiful, sunny day, PG&E President Chris Johns presented a $50,000 check on behalf of The First Tee to four of the many fifth graders in attendance.

“There’s nothing more important for a business to do than give back to the community, especially around education,” Johns said. “We’re investing in our kids, who are going to be our future. All these lessons you’re learning will not only help you in golf but will help you in whatever career you pick.”

PG&E President Chris Johns, right, speaks with Tom Klein, president of the board of The First Tee of San Francisco, which teaches schoolchildren values through the game of golf.

The program is organized by The First Tee San Francisco, a nonprofit that emphasizes nine important golf values—honesty, integrity, sportsmanship, respect, confidence, responsibility, perseverance, courtesy and judgment.

With PG&E’s financial support, the six-week program was expanded from 21 schools in 2011 to 30 schools this school year; it now benefits 6,000 students. The event at Harding Park is the culmination of six weeks of physical education classes at their schools focusing on golf.

Richard Carranza, deputy superintendent of the San Francisco Unified School District, led a rally yell from the students to thank PG&E and The First Tee San Francisco.

“Thank you!” they screamed.

“I could have said thank you, but I think it’s much more powerful coming from the students who you’re directly affecting,” Carranza said. “We’re introducing students to lifelong physical activity. And guess what? You can do this the rest of your life. You can go out to a golf course, swing a golf club and you’re not competing. You’re having fun.”

Golf skills tested

After the remarks, the children took part in a kind of golf carnival—different stations where they practiced aiming, putting and chipping. They also were treated to lunch and played games set up by PG&E volunteers testing them on questions about the environment, renewables and safety.

Thirty San Francisco schools are taking part in The First Tee program and attending a special field trip this week at TPC Harding Park.

For the children, the program may inspire them to become the next Bubba Watson or Michelle Wie. But The First Tee’s goal isn’t to churn out professional golfers. It’s to give them skills that they’ll be able to use no matter what their future holds.

Kay Cockerill, a Golf Channel reporter and former LPGA player who emceed the event, said golf has been invaluable to her since she began playing the sport when she was 12.

“It gave me a real sense of direction,” said Cockerill, a board member of The First Tee. “It helped me become more confident and interact with other individuals.”

Like many of the children, 12-year-old Jenny Guan had never picked up a golf club before or even visited a golf course. She said she was surprised by how much she liked the game and how different it was from the sports she normally plays—kickball, tennis and soccer.

“I’m still kind of bad,” she said. “But I like it because it’s more calm. No one screams.”

E-mail David Kligman at david.kligman@pge.com.

One of these, known as an electric worksite idle management system, or eWIMS, allows much of a work truck’s equipment, including its bucket, to be operated electronically. That means diesel engines don’t need to be idling to provide power. That’s better for the environment, better for workers and better for PG&E customers. Plus it saves on fuel costs.

PG&E was instrumental in creating the eWiMS system and its commitment to buying hundreds of bucket trucks that use it was important in convincing Altec to expand its facilities in Dixon.

PG&E officers Greg Pruett and Des Bell joined U.S. Rep John Garamendi, Altec CEO Lee Styslinger III and other dignitaries – and many of the new workers at the plant – for the ceremony. (Click here to read about this event.)

In this video, several of the speakers share their thoughts and many of the Altec trucks are displayed.

Customers who live near pressure-test locations have received letters with information about the hydrostatic pressure tests.

Experts from PG&E will be on hand to answer questions on the testing. Poster boards will provide additional information.

In 2011, PG&E tested the pressure on about 160 miles of gas transmission pipelines. Most of these were in urban areas, known as high-consequence areas. This video explains how a pipeline pressure test works.

Here is the date and location of the open house:

• Wednesday, May 9, from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. at Burton High School (400 Mansell St., San Francisco, CA 94134).

PG&E offers a detailed explanation of the testing procedure on its website.