OBMA Member & Business News

SDG&E: Energy Upgrade California: Do Your Thing™ - Inspiring Californians to Take Action

Do Your Thing™ is an anthem for all Californians, motivating residents and small businesses to take actions big or small to better manage energy consumption. The result is a cleaner, healthier, more prosperous California that we all can enjoy. Do Your Thing™ taps into the pride, diversity, and power that each individual California resident and small business has to create a big change for our state through smart energy use. It empowers every Californian with the tools and information to benefit themselves and the state through more efficient energy use. By rallying ALL Californians to take action, this will help to achieve the State’s goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 40% by 2030 and 80% by 2050.

SDG&E: Give Your Business a Savings Boost

SDG&E’s Business Energy Advisor online tool can provide businesses opportunities to save. The tool can make things easier by analyzing energy data and can also: • Group accounts and/or meters together for collective analysis • Track and assess the effectiveness of energy efficiency initiatives • Show time of use consumption and Event Day performance • Give savings tips and recommend programs to help save even more To learn more, visit sdge.com/BEA.

SDG&E’s EV charging installations have begun

SDG&E has begun installing their Power Your Drive electric vehicle (EV) charging stations for apartments, businesses and condos.  With almost 25,000 plug-in EVs on our region’s road, the 600 property owners and managers on the Power Your Drive interest list today, see the benefit in adding this amenity for their tenants and residents.  They also like that SDG&E will operate and maintain the chargers for the life of the program.  How can you move up on the list?  Fill out a Power Your Drive application today at www.sdge.com/PowerYourDrive.  The program is first-come, first-serve, so those that have their applications submitted and move through the process quickly will move up on the list.  

SDG&E: Do you know how your business uses energy?

California Utilities changed the way they charge for energy based on when customers use it. Energy costs more during times of peak demand, which can occur anytime – but is most likely to happen during the summer. Peak hours during the summer (May 1 – October 31, 2017) are weekdays between 11 a.m. and 6 p.m. Weekends and holidays are considered off-peak. Prices are lower during these low-demand times. Learn more about the pricing plans on sdge.com/business/PricingPlans.

Small Business Consulting at No Cost

The Small Business Consulting Program at San Diego State University pairs astute students with small businesses in the San Diego area. As a client, you meet your student team, led by a graduate assistant, and design the project plans to meet the scope of the project. This 16 week experience will give you the opportunity, to discover and apply, important primary and secondary market research, utilizing the 100+ hours of student enterprise, concluding in recommendations and an action plan.  Not to mention the lasting positive impact made in students’ lives and your company. If the program interests you, please visit our website for more information. The deadline to apply is Tuesday August 1st, 2017.

Act now to receive your no-cost, smart thermostat

SDG&E has distributed and installed business customers with thousands of ecobee Programmable Communicating Thermostats (PCTs) worth $300 at no cost. Customers have found these smart thermostats easy to operate and it allows more control over energy use – which maximizes energy savings.

Take advantage of free energy-related courses

Specialized energy efficiency and sustainability courses sharpen your skills, and are a great way for businesses to competitively get ahead. SDG&E’s Energy Innovation Center offers over 250 free energy-related courses per year, making it easy to find classes that fit your needs. Keep up-to-date on the latest technologies that can help your business save energy and money. Gain basic skills or advanced training in green building practices, many customized to your type of business.

Sharp HealthCare is SDG&E’s Energy Showcase’s 2017 Grand Champion

Congratulations to Sharp HealthCare! San Diego’s largest private employer and leading healthcare provider, Sharp HealthCare, is committed to improving the health of the environment and the communities they serve. Through their All Ways Green™ initiative, Sharp identifies and implements opportunities and best practices which are focused in five areas: energy efficiency, water conservation, waste minimization, commuter solutions, and sustainable food practices. Sharp’s focus on energy efficient measures has resulted in a 7% decrease in energy consumption and an energy cost savings of over 3%. In total, Sharp’s completed energy projects have reduced their carbon footprint by almost 18,000 metric tons of CO2 every year.

Wasting Away: Food Waste Reduction for Restaurants Class with SDG&E

In the class, Wasting Away: Food Waste Reduction for Restaurants, you’ll learn: •      How to implement an organic waste recycling program. •      Reducing organic waste with food tracking and repurposing. •      About new technologies for dealing with organic waste Come learn from dynamic speaker and restaurant kitchen expert Richard Young, senior engineer and Director of Education at the Food Service Technology Center (FSTC), an unbiased research facility that focuses specifically on commercial food service applications.

Offering EV Charging Amenities in Your Building

Increase employee and tenant satisfaction by offering EV charging amenities in your building

No-Cost Energy Audits for Businesses

Receive a no-cost energy audit for your business and you may also qualify for a zero percent interest loan to finance any energy efficiency projects!

Advertising Opportunity: PassPort San Diego

City of San Diego’s Earned Sick Leave and Minimum Wage Ordinance

This is for informational purposes and intended for businesses that have employees who work within the geographic boundaries of the City of San Diego. Please review the information below to ensure that you are in compliance with the City of San Diego Earned Sick Leave and Minimum Wage Ordinance. The City of San Diego’s Earned Sick Leave and Minimum Wage Ordinance, San Diego Municipal Code Chapter 3, Article 9, Division 1, became effective on July 11, 2016. It is applicable to employees who perform at least two (2) hours of work within the geographic boundaries of San Diego. 

SDG&E Spurs Energy Storage Innovation with Flow Battery Technology

From SDG&E: SDG&E recently unveiled a new vanadium redox flow (VRF) battery storage pilot project in coordination with Sumitomo Electric (SEI), which stemmed from a partnership between Japan’s New Energy and Industrial Development Organization (NEDO) and the California Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development (GO-Biz). During the four-year demonstration project, SDG&E will be researching if flow battery technology can economically enhance the delivery of reliable energy to customers, integrate growing amounts of renewable energy and increase the flexibility in the way the company manages the power grid. To read more of this story, visit sdgenews.com.

Attend SDG&E's Free Technology Incentives seminar

From SDG&E: SDG&E’s Technology Incentives (TI) Program provides incentives to businesses that purchase and install a qualifying Energy Management system (EMS). These systems help businesses control their energy use by implementing a customized load curtailment plan that optimizes system performance and monitors energy costs year round. By attending SDG&E’s free Technology Incentives class, you’ll learn the basic concepts and associated benefits of Energy Management Systems, Automated Demand Response and the Technology Incentives Program. Visit seminars.sdge.com to register for this free, introductory level seminar. For more information: