PGE in Bakersfield

The Pacific Gas and Electric Company or the PGE as it is referred to usually, is considered a national leader in providing energy efficiency solutions to its customers that are not only a cost effective way of reducing their energy bills but are also extremely helpful in reducing greenhouse emissions. In fact, the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE), a nonprofit research group based in Washington, D.C., has recognized 16 PG and E energy efficiency programs as “exemplary programs” or “honorable mentions” as part of a national awards program to honor America’s leading energy efficiency programs. And one of the areas that PGE caters to is also the town of Bakersfield.

Over the past three decades, 85 distinct residential and commercial energy efficiency programs by the PG and E have helped customers save as much as 118 million megawatt-hours of electricity and 10.7 billion therms of natural gas. And these joint efforts by the company and its customers have resulted in saving enough electricity to power more than 18 million homes and enough annual natural gas to heat 15 million homes. And during all this while, these PGE programs have also prevented over 125 tons of carbon dioxide from entering the atmosphere. Many of these homes are also located in the Bakersfield area.

With global warming reaching a feverish pitch and the whole world working towards an alternative to using fossil fuels, renewable sources of energy have become top priority. Whilst people might already adopt the thought of switching to solar energy or wind power, a thought that could be a hindrance is whether they can actually manage to do that. At PG and E, the driving force behind all their work is the thought process that energy efficiency is within the reach of every individual and every family. And it is their endeavor to make this a reality that has helped PG E grow to become one of the leading providers of energy solutions in the country today.

The company delivers natural gas to approximately 220,000 commercial and industrial customers in California, many of them in Bakersfield. Actually, the PG E utility owns and operates an integrated natural gas transportation, storage and distribution system in most of northern and central California. What is significant is their effectiveness in helping customers achieve greater levels of energy efficiency in their homes and business facilities while making an important environmental contribution, because PG E greatly helps reduce greenhouse gas emissions.