SAN DIEGO, Jan. 25, 2005 (PRIMEZONE) -- San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E) was recognized today for its efforts to reduce electric transmission congestion in Southern California through the recent improvements at its Miguel substation. At the annual DistribuTECH Conference held in San Diego this week, the Miguel upgrade project was named "Transmission and Distribution (T&D) Engineering Project of the Year" for 2004.
The awards were presented by Utility Automation & Engineering T&D, an industry trade publication that also was one of the conference sponsors. DistribuTECH is the industry's leading international conference and exhibition on information technology, distribution automation, competitive business strategies and customer satisfaction. Other award categories included projects in T&D automation, geospatial technologies and automatic meter reading.
"When we chose our award winners, we looked at several criteria including technological innovation, the value of the project to the utility's customers, its value to the company itself and to the power industry as a whole," said Steven Brown, editor-in-chief of Utility Automation & Engineering T&D. "The Miguel project best exemplifies what this design award is all about, and SDG&E should be applauded for all they've done to improve electric reliability in the Southern California region."
"We are very pleased that a group of our industry peers has acknowledged the hard work and creativity of our employees," said James P. Avery, SDG&E's senior vice president of electric. "The Miguel transmission-upgrade project was a top priority of our company. We knew it would give us more options - now and in the future - for improved reliability of our energy-delivery system. The project also will help reduce costs for Southern California customers by $18 million annually."
The project, which was completed in October 2004, allows SDG&E to import 100 megawatts to 400 megawatts more power through the Miguel substation, providing better access to less expensive electricity imports. SDG&E estimates energy cost savings of about $18 million a year by easing the electricity bottleneck at Miguel. Those savings are due to reduced congestion charges and avoiding the added expense of running older, less efficient local power plants for reliability.
Unique to the Miguel project was the use of gas insulation in a 500-kilovolt substation. While this technology has been in existence for several years, this was the first time SDG&E has used it to expand a substation. The novel approach to the project enabled the company to shrink the facility to fit within a fraction of the space usually required.
The upgrades were finished in a little more than a year - an unprecedented pace for a project of this complexity, which typically could take as long as two to three years. The accelerated timeframe was possible due to careful coordination between the company and its contractors for "just-in-time" design, material delivery and construction.
"The speed with which the project was completed and the innovative use of gas-insulated switchgear to meet space requirements are two impressive qualities that make this a project other utility companies should look to as an example," added Brown.
SDG&E is a regulated public utility that provides safe and reliable energy service to 3.2 million consumers through 1.3 million electric meters and more than 800,000 natural gas meters. The company's service territory encompasses 4,100 square miles in San Diego and southern Orange counties. Exceptional customer service is a priority of SDG&E as it seeks to enhance the region's quality of life. SDG&E is a regulated subsidiary of Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE). Sempra Energy, based in San Diego, is a Fortune 500 energy services holding company. To learn more, go to www.sdge.com.