SAN DIEGO, June 17, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Tomorrow, at the 10(th) Annual Energy Showcase, San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E) will recognize the City of San Diego, the Balboa Park Cultural Partnership, and eight other municipal, school district, and business customers for their remarkable results in energy efficiency and conservation.

The following organizations will be presented with Energy Champion Awards:


    --  Grand Champion: City of San Diego/Balboa Park Cultural Partnership
    --  Entertainment: Pala Band of Mission Indians
    --  Biotech: Ilumina
    --  Communications: Qualcomm
    --  Local Government: City of Oceanside
    --  Property Management: Alexandria Real Estate
    --  Hospitals/Healthcare: Kaiser Permanente
    --  Food Distribution: Monterrey/The Natural Choice
    --  Federal Government: MCB Camp Pendleton
    --  K-12 Schools: Escondido School District

Collectively, these SDG&E customers saved more than 16 million kilowatt hours (kWh) of electricity and over 200,000 therms of natural gas in 2014, enough to power nearly 1,400 homes for one year. Videos highlighting the Energy Champion success stories are available at sdge.com/energyshowcase.

"The sustainability efforts that these forward-thinking customers have implemented this past year are outstanding," said Caroline Winn, chief energy delivery officer for SDG&E. "We are committed to a sustainable future, and we look forward to continuing to help our business customers reduce their carbon footprint through innovative solutions, rebates, and incentives available through SDG&E that also reduce their energy costs."

The City of San Diego, in conjunction with the Balboa Park Cultural Partnership, will be named SDG&E's 2015 Energy Grand Champion for implementing energy-efficiency measures and raising the bar on energy saving efforts. Between 2012 and 2014, the City installed 39,500 street lights, of which 3,600 are adaptive control LED street lights, making it the first deployment of its size in the nation. The City has demonstrated their commitment to sustainability at every level in San Diego through various measures, including installation of 27 electric vehicle charging stations, participation in demand response programs, completion of numerous energy efficiency audits and upgrades to 60 of the highest use buildings in the City and public utility facilities, among other actions.

"On behalf of the City, I am proud San Diego has earned this honor," Mayor Kevin L. Faulconer said. "We have begun implementing our Climate Action Plan, which will give us the opportunity to reduce greenhouse gasses, protect our environment and increase the use of renewable energy while lowering overall costs. We know that there is still work to do, but by working together, we are building San Diego's sustainable future."

Nearly 1,000 people are expected to attend the SDG&E Energy Showcase Expo immediately following the Energy Champions awards breakfast. The Energy Showcase features over 75 technology exhibitors focused on the future of energy efficiency and innovative. The Showcase includes several electric passenger and oversized commercial vehicles that will be on display. There are over 16,000 electric vehicles in San Diego County, and many businesses are adding these clean cars to their fleets to save on fuel costs and to demonstrate their commitment to sustainability.

The Energy Showcase also includes the Energy Solutions Center, where the public has the opportunity to meet with energy advisors on new energy and money-saving technologies and programs for their business. LED lights will be available through vendor TechniArt at a discounted rate.

Visit sdge.com/good4biz for more information on ways to save money every day or call the Energy Savings Center at 800-644-6133 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, to talk to an energy service specialist.

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 868,000 natural gas meters in San Diego and southern Orange counties. The utility's area spans 4,100 square miles. SDG&E is committed to creating ways to help customers save energy and money every day. SDG&E is a subsidiary of Sempra Energy (NYSE: SRE), a Fortune 500 energy services holding company based in San Diego. Connect with SDG&E's Customer Contact Center at 800-411-7343, on Twitter (@SDGE) and Facebook.

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SOURCE San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E)