Tag Archive for: SDGE

The Water-Energy Program works toward increasing water efficiency throughout the region by focusing on replacing inefficient fixtures with state-of-the-art water-saving devices in disadvantaged communities. Photo: San Diego County Water Authority

Water-Energy Program Helps Low-Income Families Achieve Savings

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The San Diego County Water Authority’s water-energy partnership with San Diego Gas & Electric is seeking $1.8 million in additional funding through 2026 to continue saving water and energy for thousands of income-qualified residents across the San Diego region.

For more than 25 years, the Water Authority’s Water-Energy Nexus Program, or WEN, has maximized energy savings while supporting water efficiency in the San Diego region. SDG&E and the Water Authority have worked together to trim water and energy use and costs in one of the longest-running partnerships of its kind in California. As part of its role, the Water Authority funds the installation of water efficiency devices for eligible customers and communities.

Water savings benefit the entire region

Adding water efficient upgrades will help meet long-term regional conservation goals. Photo: San Diego County Water Authority

Adding water-efficient upgrades will help meet long-term regional conservation goals. Photo: San Diego County Water Authority

Toilets account for nearly 30% of a typical home’s indoor water use. The WEN Program increased water efficiency by replacing inefficient fixtures with state-of-the-art water-saving devices in disadvantaged communities.

“The Water Authority is committed to helping the San Diego region make the most of our water supplies through a variety of innovative programs,” said Kelley Gage, director of the Water Resources Department at the Water Authority. “Through our partnership with SDG&E, we extend help to families that might not be able to afford these environmentally friendly upgrades without support.”

SDG&E’s Energy Savings Assistance Program installs both water- and energy-saving measures in single-family, multifamily, and manufactured homes. The Water Authority reimburses SDG&E for water-saving devices installed by its contractor, Synergy Companies. This partnership has received funding to continue through 2025.

Installation of high-efficiency toilets and irrigation controllers is a collaboration with SDG&E’s Multifamily and Manufactured Housing Programs, which was recently approved for four more years of funding.

Financial barriers to long-term conservation removed

Removing upfront costs helps all residents benefit from water efficient fixtures ih the home. Photo: San Diego County Water Authority

Removing upfront costs helps all residents benefit from water-efficient fixtures in the home. Photo: San Diego County Water Authority

Low-income residents are sometimes unable to participate in water and energy conservation programs due to the upfront costs. The Water Authority’s program invests in water-efficient upgrades upfront. Adding funding capacity for additional retrofitting will help meet long-term conservation goals.

For more water-use efficiency resources, go to WaterSmart.SD.org.

Head of California Grid Expresses ‘Guarded Optimism’ About Avoiding Summer Blackouts

/in , , /by /Times of San Diegoby Chris Jennewein

The head of California’s electric grid said Wednesday he is “guardedly optimistic” that the state will avoid rotating blackouts this summer, but warned that voluntary cooperation during Flex Alerts will be necessary.

Elliot Mainzer, president and CEO of the California Independent System Operator, said utilities throughout the state have built up power reserves and invested in new technology like battery storage to prevent blackouts like the ones in 2020.

But recent record heat in California and the Pacific Northwest combined with a drought that will reduce hydropower give him cause for concern.

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San Marcos Interceptor Project Ready for Phase 2 Summer Start 

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The San Marcos Interceptor Replacement Project remains on schedule, with Phases 1 and 1A completed according to the Vallecitos Water District. The project replaces the District’s 1960s era 21-inch diameter sewer interceptor with more than 12,000-feet of 42-inch diameter sewer pipeline between Twin Oaks Valley Road and Pacific Street.

The Interceptor is a large trunk sewer pipeline receiving and conveying wastewater by gravity to the Encina Wastewater Authority. In Phases 1 and 1A of the project between 2002 and 2014, portions behind the Creekside Marketplace from State Route 78 to Grand Avenue, from Twin Oaks Valley Road to east of Johnston Lane, from Grand Avenue to Via Vera Cruz, and east of Johnson Lane to the south side of State Route 78 were completed.

Phase 2 will complete the remaining 3,400-feet of the westernmost project corridor extending from Via Vera Cruz to Pacific Street. The project budget is $8.5 million. The completion of Phase 2 of the Interceptor project has been in the works for more than 30 years, with the project exchanging numerous hands in planning, design, and construction.

“This is a milestone project for the District both in size and significance,” said Ryan Morgan, capital facilities senior engineer.

State of the art construction technology

Microtunneling made it possible for the Vallecitos Water District to successfully complete the project in under a week with no damage to the existing utilities while also minimizing traffic impacts at San Marcos Boulevard and Pacific Street. Photo: Vallecitos Water District San Marcos Interceptor

Microtunneling made it possible for the Vallecitos Water District to successfully complete the project in under a week with no damage to the existing utilities while also minimizing traffic impacts at San Marcos Boulevard and Pacific Street. Photo: Vallecitos Water District

The project used state-of-the-art trenchless technology to install a 115-ft long tunnel under an existing concrete culvert under the Pacific Street and San Marcos Boulevard intersection. The 42-inch diameter fiberglass reinforced plastic Interceptor sewer was installed inside a 60-inch diameter steel casing pipe.

Using a process known as “microtunneling,” contractor TC Construction and sub-consultant JW Fowler used a MicroTunnel Boring Machine (MTBM) inside an excavation in the eastbound lanes of San Marcos Boulevard and be received in a smaller excavation in the westbound lanes of San Marcos Boulevard at Pacific Street.

The MTBM is larger than 60-inches in diameter to be large enough to bore through native soils, rock, and backfill along the Interceptor alignment. The new tunnel’s wall is pressurized internally using hydraulic fluids before the steel casing is permanently installed. The MTBM is remote-controlled by an operator on the surface and is laser-guided to ensure it stays within the designed horizontal and vertical alignment (line and grade).

The MTBM’s high level of accuracy makes it especially useful when a project needs to avoid conflicts with existing underground utility lines, including a 16-inch diameter high-pressure San Diego Gas & Electric gas line in this project. The microtunnel installation was a 24-hour, 7-day-a-week process.

The microtunnel allowed the District to “thread the needle,” and the tunnel was completed in under a week (plus setup). There was no damage to any of the existing utilities in San Marcos Boulevard, and traffic impacts were minimized.

Project completion nearing this summer

The San Marcos Interceptor project required special mitigating measures and biological monitoring for construction during bird nesting season between February 15 and September 15 along San Marcos Creek. Photo: Vallecitos Water District

The San Marcos Interceptor project required special mitigating measures and biological monitoring for construction during bird nesting season between February 15 and September 15 along San Marcos Creek. Photo: Vallecitos Water District

The Interceptor project required biological monitors and archeological monitors for work adjacent to San Marcos Creek or predetermined environmental sensitive areas. Special mitigation measures and biological monitoring were required for construction during bird nesting season between February 15 and September 15. Additionally, tribal paleological monitors from Native American tribes of significance in the area were represented during excavation work in the creek.

The final leg of the project will begin in the easements adjacent to the creek between Via Vera Cruz and McMahr. Construction completion is expected in June 2021.

This replacement project was originally identified in the District’s 1991 Master Plan and has been phased to be completed prior to City of San Marcos development of the Creek District.

(Editor’s note: The Vallecitos Water District is one of the San Diego County Water Authority’s 24 member agencies that deliver water across the metropolitan San Diego region.)

Public Power Agency Preparing Launch With Clean Energy Emphasis

/in , /by /KPBS San Diegoby Andrew Bowen

San Diego Community Power (SDCP), the local government agency created to speed up the transition to renewable energy, will officially start serving its first customers in less than two weeks.

The launch is the culmination of years of debate over whether governments can be trusted to purchase electricity on behalf of homes and businesses, or if that responsibility should stay with San Diego Gas & Electric, the region’s private utility.

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Go With the Flow: Battery System in Bonita to be Tested for Use in Microgrids

/in , /by /The San Diego Union-Tribuneby Rob Nikolewski

A battery storage demonstration project already providing a carbon-free source of electricity to California’s grid is about to be tested to see how well it can work on microgrids.

Located on a bluff at a San Diego Gas & Electric substation in Bonita, the energy storage project uses vanadium redox flow battery technology that stores electricity when the grid has excess supply and then discharges the energy when the power system needs it.

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SDGE to Add 600 RCS Radios

/in , , /by /Village Newsby Joe Naiman

San Diego Gas & Electric will utilize 600 additional radios as part of the Regional Communications System.

A 5-0 San Diego County Board of Supervisors vote December 8 authorized the execution of an agreement to add the radios for SDG&E, which will pay the county an estimated $5,086,620 for the additional participation, and authorized the county Sheriff to execute amendments, extensions, or revisions which do not materially impact the program or funding level.

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Opinion: California’s Energy System Should Be Resilient, Flexible and Affordable

/in , , /by /CalMattersby Kevin Sagara and Chris Cramer

As essential service providers, utilities are responsible for helping to ensure the health and well-being of our communities. The weight of that responsibility has gotten heavier as climate change and the pandemic take its toll on our beautiful state and the people who live here.

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SDG&E Releases Sustainability Strategy with Green-and Justice-Oriented Goals

/in , , /by /Times of San Diegoby City News Service

San Diego Gas & Electric released a sustainability strategy Thursday with climate change-conscious goals in the areas of environmental stewardship, clean transportation, grid modernization, community engagement and company operations.

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Loveland Reservoir-Firefighter Helicopter-Valley Fire-Sweetwater Authority

Water Agencies Assist in Fighting Valley Fire

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The Sweetwater Authority and the Otay Water District collaborated with multiple agencies during the recent Valley Fire in San Diego County. Water infrastructure played a key role in the firefighting effort.

Cooperation and collaboration are critical elements during wildfires. Both water agencies worked with multiple responders, including U.S. Forest Service firefighters, CALFIRE and SDG&E, to ensure the safety of crews and keep a safe, reliable water supply flowing for their customers.

The Valley Fire started September 5, southeast of Alpine in the Cleveland National Forest. Before it was fully contained on September 24, the wildfire burned 16,390 acres and destroyed at least 30 homes, according to officials with the Cleveland National Forest.

Loveland Reservoir plays key role in firefighting efforts

Water agency infrastructure, employees and the public were directly threatened. The fire started in Alpine near the Sweetwater Authority Loveland Reservoir. Employees and anglers at the reservoir had to be evacuated.

Reservoir water was used throughout the firefighting efforts. Designated as critical infrastructure, Loveland was protected by fire crews, who used bulldozers on the property to create fire breaks.

Sweetwater Authority also made water tankers available to provide drinking water to crews and other agencies working the fire.

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A firefighting helicopter makes a water drop on the Valley Fire near Alpine in September 2020. Photo: Sweetwater Authority

Infrastructure at Loveland Reservoir to protect water quality and provide for recreation was protected and did not sustain damage during the fire.

“We are grateful to the firefighters who worked tirelessly to protect Loveland Reservoir,” said Sweetwater Authority General Manager Tish Berge. “This reservoir is crucial in providing local water and keeping water rates low for our customers.”

The region was in the early stages of a prolonged heatwave when the fire started. The San Diego Union-Tribune reporters covering the fire wrote on September 5:

El Cajon hit 114 degrees and Alpine reached 113 — the highest temperatures ever recorded in those communities — while Ramona got to 112 and San Diego State University topped out at 105, according to the National Weather Service.

By Saturday night, fire fighters were working to control a wildfire that grew to more than 1,500 acres in the rural Japatul Valley area of East County, threatening homes and forcing evacuations.

“We’re throwing everything at it,” said Cal Fire spokesman Kendal Bortisser, as teams used helicopters and air tankers to make water drops. “It is going to be an extreme-attack fire. It is nothing we are putting out tonight.”

Otay Water District urges energy conservation

The Otay Water District safely curtailed electric power at its facilities during the Valley Fire as requested by SDG&E to help alleviate fire and weather concerns.

In addition to the prolonged heatwave and the Valley Fire, SDG&E continued to monitor potential high fire risk weather conditions. Those conditions may have forced SDG&E to shut off power to reduce the risk of a wildfire. Prior to the Valley Fire, Otay encouraged customers in its service area to safely conserve energy.

“We believe that any actions a local water agency like the Otay Water District can take to help SDG&E during heatwaves and the fires contributes to the region’s safety as a community,” said Otay Water District General Manager Jose Martinez.

Fighting wildfires involves cooperation from many agencies. The Valley Fire is another example of how water agencies, and water infrastructure, are key parts of those efforts. The cause of the fire remains under investigation.

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Area covered by the Valley Fire in San Diego County, September 2020. Graphic: InciWeb

The Vallecitos Water District Twin Oaks Reservoir dual solar panel array is expected to be completed in November 2020. Photo: Vallecitos Water District Solar Project

Solar Project Saves Energy, Costs for Vallecitos Water District

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The Vallecitos Water District is pursuing greater use of renewable resources, increasing capacity to the electrical grid, and reducing long term operational costs with an innovative solar power project.

The west solar array is installed on top of the Vallecitos Water District’s 33-million gallon reservoir with 2,300 solar modules and eight 80 kw inverters. The east array is located on top of the 40-million gallon reservoir with 2,900 modules with ten 80 kw inverters. Photo: Vallecitos Water District

In 2017, the Vallecitos Water District Board of Directors agreed to pursue development of districtwide renewable power sources using existing open space to benefit the District and its ratepayers.  The District worked with solar consultants Terra Verde Renewable Partners to evaluate and study the feasibility of three solar port locations. Two projects are now moving forward; two arrays at the pair of Vallecitos owned reservoirs in Twin Oaks, and an array at the (sewer) Lift Station #1, located on San Marcos Boulevard.

The projects are structured under a Power Purchase Agreement. A solar provider designs, builds, and maintains systems for 25 years. In turn, the District receives a reduced electricity rate from SDG&E over the 25-year term at the District’s 13 highest use meters. The District will become owners of the solar system after the 25-year maintenance term expires. No capital investment is required from the District.

“The project is a great benefit to Vallecitos customers,” said Ryan Morgan, Capital Facilities Senior Engineer. “Through our export of power into the electrical grid, we receive bill credits on these power exchanges. The District benefits directly through reduced power costs, and that cost savings is passed down to the customer ultimately in reduced water and sewer rates.”

Multiple stakeholders working together

Vallecitos Water District provides the project sites, working with SDG&E, the solar provider team, the District’s contractors, and the solar maintenance operator. The District’s water professionals work with solar power experts to guide the project through planning, design, and construction as a team.

Over the 25-year term, the District will benefit from a reduced electrical rate of 7.79 cents per kilowatt-hour (kWh) at its 13 highest use meters. It will also receive a rebate or credit on its export of power to the electrical grid. Savings to the District over 25 years are estimated at $8.3 million, which ultimately results in reduced water and sewer rates for customers. District staff locked in the maximum federal rebate by launching the project in 2019 and meeting a narrow window for grant funding.

Solar panels installed on top of two reservoirs

The Twin Oaks Reservoir dual solar panel array sites prior to installation. Photo: Vallecitos Water District solar project

The Twin Oaks Reservoir dual solar panel array sites prior to installation. Photo: Vallecitos Water District

The west solar array is installed on top of the District’s 33-million gallon reservoir with 2,300 solar modules and eight 80 kW inverters. The east array is located on top of the 40-million gallon reservoir with 2,900 modules with ten 80 kW inverters. The total production is roughly 3.6 MWh annually, enough to power 340 homes.

Local power conservation remains vital

The Twin Oaks Reservoir dual solar array total production is roughly 3.6 mWh annually, enough to power 340 homes. Photo: Vallecitos Water District

The Twin Oaks Reservoir dual solar array total production is roughly 3.6 mWh annually, enough to power 340 homes. Photo: Vallecitos Water District

While the solar power project cannot prevent the potential for power outages due to rolling blackouts, the project helps to add capacity to the power grid when it is needed.

“The District wants to publicly thank Terre Verde Renewable Partners, Holt Renewables, and Kenyon Energy for their valuable roles in the success of this project,” said Morgan.  “We also want to acknowledge the above and beyond effort of the District’s inspections team.”

The Twin Oaks Reservoir dual array is expected to be completed in November 2020. The Lift Station #1 site is expected to be completed in February of 2021.