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San Diego Gas & Electric: SDG&E to Launch Annual Solicitations for Renewable and Conventional Energy Resources

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  Published in Business and Finance on Wednesday, June 10th 2009 at 11:38 GMT, Last Modified on 2009-06-10 11:39:33 by Market Wire
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SAN DIEGO, CA--(Marketwire - June 10, 2009) - San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E) today announced it will be launching two competitive solicitations this summer seeking a supply of renewable and conventional energy resources to meet customers' needs over the next several years.

The solicitations, also known as "Requests for Offers" (RFOs), will help SDG&E meet its goal of expanding its portfolio of clean, renewable power for the region, increasing reliability and meeting state mandates. Both solicitations will be launched this month.

SDG&E and the state's other investor-owned utilities issue annual power solicitations based on state policy, which outlines the process of securing resources. The state policy specifies that, when planning for demand growth, energy efficiency and renewable energy take priority.

"SDG&E is fully committed to investing in renewable resources and continues to aggressively pursue renewable energy from a variety of sources," said Matt Burkhart, vice president of electric and fuel procurement for SDG&E. "The renewable solicitation for clean power is the next step in our plan to acquire 33 percent of our energy from renewable resources by 2020."

SDG&E expects that 26 percent of its electricity supply will come from renewable sources by 2012 based upon signed contracts secured through previous solicitations.

Even with SDG&E's aggressive outreach for renewable energy, the utility must continue to acquire some conventional generation resources to meet customer demand, replace expiring power contracts and back up intermittent renewable energy resources that are being added to the electric grid, Burkhart said. The conventional generation solicitation seeks a combination of demand-reduction commitments and new or existing generation projects.

SDG&E's upcoming renewable energy solicitation is targeting solar, wind, geothermal, biomass or any other clean, renewable resource that qualifies under the state's Renewable Portfolio Standard program. The plants that produce the power can be inside or outside the SDG&E service territory.

The evaluation and selection of offers from both RFOs will include active participation by SDG&E's Procurement Review Group, comprised of California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) staff, consumer advocates and other non-market participants, as well as an independent evaluator. These entities are involved at all stages of the process, including the preparation of the RFOs, bid evaluation and determination of the final "short list" of bidders. Once the evaluation process is completed, proposed contracts are subject to CPUC review and approval.

After the solicitations are issued, additional information will be available on SDG&E's Web site, [ www.sdge.com ]. SDG&E is a regulated public utility that provides safe and reliable energy service to 3.4 million consumers through 1.4 million electric meters and more than 840,000 natural gas meters in San Diego and southern Orange counties. The utility's area spans 4,100 square miles. Exceptional customer service is a priority of SDG&E as it seeks to enhance the region's quality of life. SDG&E is a subsidiary of Sempra Energy (NYSE: [ SRE ]), a Fortune 500 energy services holding company based in San Diego.