Chula Vista Leads Cities in Action on Climate Change: First San Diego County City to Participate in the Cool Planet Project & Receive Climate Action Leader Designation

October 29, 2009 1:23 PM EDT

LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- The City of Chula Vista, by achieving outstanding energy efficiency and greenhouse gas (GHG) reductions, is the first city to join the Cool Planet Project, an energy efficiency and climate change mitigation program hosted by San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E) and The Climate Registry. Through programs provided by SDG&E and sponsored by the California Public Utilities Commission, the City of Chula Vista installed energy efficiency projects on facilities throughout the city, reducing municipal energy use by more than 1.2 million kilowatt-hours and 50,000 therms -- equivalent to removing over 200 cars from Chula Vista's city streets annually.

"The City of Chula Vista is proud to be the first city to join the Cool Planet Project and demonstrate environmental leadership through energy efficiency," said Cheryl Cox, mayor of City of Chula Vista. "We are committed to making a positive difference to our environment and leading by example."

Business customers of SDG&E who achieve significant energy savings through the installation of energy efficiency projects qualify for the Cool Planet Project. Participants of the program receive a complimentary year of membership to The Climate Registry, enabling them to measure, third party verify and publicly report their greenhouse gas emissions profile.

"The City of Chula Vista has taken a forward-thinking approach to their energy efficiency and environmental stewardship efforts," said Mark Gaines, director of customer programs for SDG&E. "SDG&E is proud to offer rebates and incentives to our business customers and government organizations that install energy efficiency and take action on climate change."

"Our SDG&E Local Government Partnership program has already assisted over 800 local businesses and 2,000 residents in lowering their monthly energy costs and reducing their annual energy consumption, and the City is just getting started," said Councilmember and Energy Sub-Committee Co-Chair Steve Castaneda.

Chula Vista is also the first city in San Diego County to receive the "Climate Action Leader" designation by the California Climate Action Registry, The Climate Registry's sister organization. The designation is given to local governments and businesses who successfully build their greenhouse gas emissions inventory according to protocol, measuring, third-party verifying, and publicly reporting their overall footprint to the Registry. Energy Sub-Committee Co-Chair Pamela Bensoussan and Climate Representative Rudy Ramirez were both proud of the City's projects and pleased to hear that the hard work of the City is being recognized.

CITY OF CHULA VISTA: Chula Vista is the second largest city in the San Diego County with a population of 230,000 and has been an active leader in local climate protection policies and programs since the 1990s. www.chulavistaca.gov

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 more than 840,000 natural gas meters in San Diego and southern Orange counties. The utility's area spans 4,100 square miles. Exceptional customer service is a priority of SDG&E as it seeks to enhance the region's quality of life. SDG&E is a subsidiary of Sempra Energy (NYSE: SRE), a Fortune 500 energy services holding company based in San Diego. www.sdge.com

THE CLIMATE REGISTRY sets consistent and transparent standards for the measurement, verification, and public reporting of greenhouse gas emissions throughout North America in a single unified registry. www.theclimateregistry.org

    Source: Cool Planet Project

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