Affordable Commercial, Industrial and Residential Power
The City of Redding owns its own utility through REU, thereby allowing them to make deals with industry. As an incentive for new job creation, the City of Redding has established electrical rate incentive schedules per City Council Resolution. Redding Electric Utility (REU) operates off of 50% green energy generated through hydro, wind and solar.
Electric Power
The City-owned electric utility is equipped to offer industrial rates 30%-40% lower than investor-owned utilities in California.
Over the years Redding Electric Utility (REU) has been very aggressive in diversifying its energy resource portfolio for economic and reliability reasons, and more recently for environmental, renewable, and carbon reduction objectives. REU is committed to providing customers with the lowest-cost, most reliable power available, while at the same time is also concerned about the environment and wants to leave future generations with a cleaner, healthier environment.
Hydro Power
REU's hydroelectric resources are provided through a long term contract with the Federal Government to purchase a significant portion of Redding's energy needs from power generated by the Central Valley Project. Redding also has a small hydro generating plant at the base of Whiskeytown Dam.
As a good steward of the beautiful rivers that run through Redding, REU is actively engaged in the Central Valley Project to enhance and protect the Sacramento River and its restoration of tributaries. When including renewable large hydroelectric power from these resources, REU's resource mix contains over 61% carbon-free energy.
Wind Power
In 2006, REU signed a 25-year contract through the M-S-R Public Power Agency to purchase energy from the Big Horn wind project located in eastern Washington State. The wind energy is firmed and shaped in the Pacific NW before being delivered to Redding, which takes care of the intermittency of the wind and efficiently utilizes the high voltage transmission grid.
Solar Power
In order to jump start solar power in Redding, REU provides solar rebates and has invested in solar demonstration projects on new buildings throughout the Redding community. Yet, given the high cost of solar panels, the installed systems only represent less than 1% of REU's resources.
REU offers many energy efficiency rebate programs to its customers. For Key Accounts, REU developed a Customized Rebate Program, providing incentives to its largest customers for equipment and facility retrofits that demonstrate KW demand savings, and more importantly, KW peak demand reduction or shifting. Incentives are based on a combination of KW peak demand reduction or shifting, KW demand savings, capital project cost, and fund availability.
REU's Thermal Energy Storage Program (TES) - Ice Bear Program
REU's thermal energy storage (TES) program utilizes Ice Bear intelligent distributed energy storage systems that work in conjunction with commercial direct-expansion (DX) air-conditioning systems, specifically the refrigerant-based, 4-20-ton packaged rooftop and ground mounted systems common to most small to mid-sized commercial buildings.
Ice Bears store energy at night, when electricity generation is cleaner, more efficient and less expensive for REU, and the units deliver that energy during the peak of the day to provide cooling to the building.
Daytime energy demand from air conditioning – typically 40-50% of a building’s electricity use during peak daytime hours – can be reduced significantly. In kilowatts, each Ice Bear delivers an average reduction of 7.2 kW of source equivalent peak demand for a minimum of 6 hours daily, shifting 32 kW-hours of on-peak energy to off-peak hours.
REU's Ice Bear program is designed to provide commercial building owners with both the Ice Bear unit(s) and installation incentives. For example, a local movie theatre recently expanded.
As part of its expansion project, the owners in partnership with REU, incorporated Ice Bears into the theatre's mechanical system design. REU provided multiple Ice Bears to the project, and reimbursed the owners for 100% of the installation cost of the Ice Bears. All Ice Bear installations are thoroughly evaluated by REU, Ice Energy and both structural and mechanical engineers. The decision to proceed with an installation of Ice Bears or not, is at the sole discretion of REU.
City of Shasta Lake Electric Utility
The City-owned electric utility provides services within the city limits and certain adjacent areas. The City also owns and operates two small solar installations, the largest is 10 kilowatts.
The City of Shasta Lake managers a comprehensive energy efficiency incentive program for residential & commercial customers focusing on peak load reduction and energy conservation. For commercial customers, rebates are available for upgraded lighting, HVAC equipment, and in cases where an analysis is performed rebates can be offered for additional equipment that reduces energy use and/or demand. A Photovoltaic (PV) Buy Down Program is offered to help offset investment in a PV system to reduce the initial system cost.
Pacific Gas & Electric Company (PG&E)
Pacific Gas & Electric Company provides electricity in the City of Anderson and unincorporated areas of Shasta County as well as natural gas to all of Shasta County.
PG&E proudly delivers some of the nation's cleanest energy to its customers. And they are planning for the future by exploring new technologies that harvest energy from the sun, ocean waves and agricultural waste. They are also actively involved in investing in state-of-the-art, cleaner sources of fossil fuel-based power to meet growing demand.
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