San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E), an eminent utility provider of the region has been recognized for a third time by IDC (News - Alert) Energy Insights and Intelligent Utility Magazine – an Energy Central publication – for its efforts at promoting smart grid technology.

Last week IDC Energy Insights and Intelligent Utility magazine announced the results of the annual UtiliQ rankings – a joint study designed to provide benchmarks for measuring the progress utilities are making on the path to intelligent energy.

Intelligent Utility magazine's UtiliQ survey measures utilities' progress toward intelligent operation and the development of a smart grid. UtiliQ rated 78 American utilities on operational efficiency, integration of renewables, smart-energy initiatives, demand response/energy efficiency programs and IT investments.

For the third year in a row, Intelligent Utility magazine has recognized SDG&E as the Most Intelligent Utility in the U.S. According to a press release, SDG&E was among the first utilities to file a detailed Smart Grid Deployment Plan. As a part of this plan, the utility has been implementing a number of smart grid projects. The company aims to achieve the maximum efficiency in the energy resources allocation.

SDG&E claims to provide safe and reliable energy service to 3.5 million consumers through 1.4 million electric meters and more than 850,000 natural gas meters in San Diego and southern Orange (News - Alert) counties. According to Jessie J. Knight Jr., chairman and CEO of SDG&E, the company is committed to develop a smarter grid to support the customers' desires for cleaner energy, and greater use of rooftop solar and electric vehicles. As these technologies require a smart grid, the company follows a policy of ‘act fast’.

As part of this policy, recently, SDG&E deployed smart meter and made the online tools available for the customers so that they can access the meter's energy usage and make changes to lower their consumption. As a result of all these initiatives, the customers are gaining s a much greater level of control over their energy usage.

“The commitment to fully develop a smart grid is in SDG&E's DNA and evident in every part of our utility. We must be forward-thinking about the development of a sustainable energy future, and we work every day to put that forward-thinking vision into action,” Knight noted in a statement.

In the release, SDG&E acknowledged that many of its smart grid successes came as a result of partnering with organizations throughout the world and working together on what the future of the smart grid will look like.

“Our partnerships with groups like Global Intelligent Utility Network Coalition, Gridwise Alliance, Smart City San Diego and Securing Our eCity help us to leverage synergies of the many different smart grid projects we are each working on and move those projects forward more quickly,” Knight acknowledged.

Last year, SDG&E was recognized by PA Consulting Group (News - Alert) (PA) as the recipient of the ReliabilityOne 2010 National Award for Outstanding Reliability Performance. SDG&E was also the top winner of the ReliabilityOne award among Western U.S. electric utilities for the fifth year in a row.