Like its affiliated Sempra Energy utility in California, San Diego Gas & Electric Co. (SDG&E) announced Tuesday that it has up to $40 million in rebates and incentives for businesses investing in various energy efficiency projects this year. SDG&E made the announcement at an annual energy meeting drawing about 1,200 business representatives in San Diego.

Sempra’s Los Angeles-based Southern California Gas Co. (SoCalGas) in May announced it had more than $20 million earmarked for rebates and incentives to business customers for qualifying energy efficiency projects in 2009, its largest pool of incentive money in the utility’s history. SoCalGas also passed on this information to more than 300 of its business customers at its fourth annual Energy Efficiency Expo in Downey, CA (see Daily GPI, May 21).

At the energy workshops for businesses, SDG&E featured seminars outlining programs and how businesses can take advantage of them with energy rebates, incentives, free on-site energy efficiency assessments and zero-interest financing programs. The combination utility cited a local construction company that earned almost $230,000 in incentives.

The utility helped Hamann Construction design a cold-storage facility in San Diego to run on 60% less electricity than standard facilities of that type. The company’s green building specialist said the facility holds four times more product than the company’s old facility, yet it consumes half as much energy to operate.

In another example, SDG&E helped a Radisson Suite Hotel in Rancho Bernardo, CA, to make its physical plant more energy efficient with a no-interest loan.

SDG&E Customer Programs Director Mark Gaines stressed that the added energy efficiency funds this year will help advance the state environmental and economic goals, helping cut carbon emissions and create jobs in a weak economy. “We’re helping to pay for many energy saving projects with low upfront costs and fast paybacks that can improve profitability for participating customers in a relatively short time,” Gaines said.

At the Energy Showcase for the businesses, the Sempra utility honored 10 local organizations for their implementation of energy efficiency programs, including the San Diego Convention Center and the U.S. Marine Corps’ Camp Pendleton, along with school districts, high-tech, retail and construction firms.

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