Karen Austin


598x270 Karen Austin Twitter feed
April 1, 2013

Karen Austin’s Tech Talk: PG&E’s CIO Now Tweets on IT, Tech Issues

In the most recent installment of her Tech Talk column, PG&E CIO Karen Austin talks about how she recently starting Tweeting to join the conversation about technology issues with customers.

March 20, 2013

Cybersecurity: How PG&E Works to Protect Data, Operations

Cybersecurity – safeguarding and protecting customer data and operational control – has become an increasingly important issue facing the nation’s utilities. PG&E works vigilantly to ensure this.

265x145_Karen_Austin_YMCA_SF_2
March 8, 2013

PG&E Pledges Support to Longstanding YMCA of San Francisco

PG&E’s Karen Austin announced the utility’s support of the 160-year-old YMCA of San Francisco during a benefit to raise money for the organization that gives young people a helping hand.

598x270 Karen Austin--Office
February 11, 2013

Karen Austin’s Tech Talk: PG&E’s IT Department Moved Mountains in 2012

In the debut of her Tech Talk column, PG&E CIO Karen Austin’s talks about how technological innovations benefited customers and improved employee efficiency in 2012.

598x270 PG&E Data Center Tour
January 17, 2013

PG&E’s New Data Center: Improving Customer Service, Safeguarding Critical Information

PG&E unveiled its new data center, a 12,000-square-foot energy-efficient facility that provides the backbone for the company’s information technology systems — everything from storing critical customer information to helping route technicians to downed power lines to safeguarding the utility from cyber threats.

December 20, 2012

PG&E Elects New Officers in Corporate Affairs, Information Technology and Corporate Strategy

PG&E’s Board of Directors has elected Travis Kiyota as vice president, corporate affairs; Deborah Affonsa as vice president, corporate strategy; and Brian Rich as vice president, IT business technology.

598x270_st_anthonys2
December 19, 2012

PG&E Volunteers Make Spirits Bright at Two Holiday Events in San Francisco

Throughout PG&E’s service area, employees have been donating to food banks, delivering Christmas trees and lights and participating in dozens of other activities. A quick tally shows that PG&E employees have or will volunteer more than 1,500 hours at 85 different events during this holiday season. Here’s a look at two holiday volunteer events that took place in San Francisco.

December 3, 2012

PG&E’s CIO Talks Innovation, Customer Empowerment in Forbes Blog

Karen Austin, PG&E’s chief information officer, spoke to Forbes’ NetAppVoice blog about how the company’s Information Technology (IT) department is improving safety and efficiency for both customers and employees.

598x270_habitat
October 24, 2012

PG&E Teams with Habitat for Humanity to Revitalize Underserved Neighborhoods

For years, PG&E has funded solar-powered installations at Habitat for Humanity homes throughout Northern and Central California. Now the utility is funding a new Habitat program to restore distressed homes and other community projects in the San Francisco Bay Area and Bakersfield.

Energy apps
October 1, 2012

PG&E’s Updated Green Button Technology Makes it Easier for Customers to Access Energy Data

At a White House ceremony, PG&E announced it is testing Green Button Connect, an easier and automated way for customers to securely download their energy data and send it to a third party app develop or use the data themselves to track their usage.

September 12, 2012

Information Week Ranks PG&E as Technology Innovator

PG&E joined an exclusive club when Information Week magazine unveiled its list of companies that are leading technology innovators. At an event on Sept. 11, PG&E was listed on the Information Week 500. Less than 20 energy companies and utilities were among the 500 companies.

PG&E jobs
August 22, 2012

PG&E Adding Hundreds of Jobs – All Types and Everywhere

PG&E is hiring.How many jobs? Currently, PG&E has more than 2,000 open jobs. The company’s website (www.pge.com/careers) is the best place to start to find details. Some have compared that hiring boom to what California saw immediately after World War II. And, it’s much needed as parts of the state continue to suffer from economic woes, including high unemployment and cutbacks in service

PG&E customer Tom Lyons joined Karen Austin, the utility’s chief information officer, and app developer John Hwang at today’s Soft Grid conference, sponsored by Greentech Media. (Photo by David Kligman.)
August 14, 2012

PG&E’s Austin Kicks Off Conference on Dealing with Smart Grid Data

“Big data is a big deal,” Karen Austin, PG&E’s chief information officer, said today (Aug. 14) during the keynote speech at the first Soft Grid Conference, held at PG&E’s auditorium and sponsored by Greentech Media.The conference was a gathering to discuss the challenge of collecting and effectively analyzing the massive amount of data from smart grid hardware.

CIO Roundtable
July 25, 2012

PG&E’s Austin Joins CIOs from Google, Wal-Mart on Tech Panel

Technology is playing an important role in PG&E’s gas and electric improvements, the utility’s chief information officer said during a roundtable discussion with fellow technology leaders from Google, Wal-Mart and Juniper Networks.

Karen Austin
July 5, 2012

VIDEO: Karen Austin on How Technology Makes PG&E Safer, More Efficient

In this video interview, PG&E’s Karen Austin talks about her background, her priorities and her philosophy of technology. PG&E’s chief information officer, Austin joined the company in 2011 after a long career in retail.

"PG&E" refers to Pacific Gas and Electric Company, a subsidiary of PG&E Corporation.
© 2013 Pacific Gas and Electric Company. All rights reserved.