Sacramento SMUD is a Supplier of Electricity as well as a Center for Energy Education

*This articule resulted from a SACTO hosted clean energy press trip to the Region 7/12-13. This is the translation of an article that appeared in the Chinese newspaper The Epoch Times on 7/23/06.

Photo Caption: SMUD's Free Tree Planting Program, Free Shade Trees, Initiated Since The 1990s, Receives Considerable Response From The Community.
Company Has Helped Community Residents Plant 350,000 Mature Trees Measuring 4 To 7 Feet in the Past Decade Or So.
 
The Central News Agency
 
Sacramento SMUD Is A Supplier of Electricity As Well As a Center for Energy Education
 
Epoch Times, July 23 -- (Lin Lin, The Central News Agency, July 23, New York) Sacramento Municipal Utility District is unique among utility companies in that it is a utility company run by a commission elected by residents of the community it serves. The biggest contributions offered to the community by this public utility company, which has operated for 60 years, also include energy conservation, education on environmental protection and research and development involving the active participation of the academic and industrial communities.
 
Upon entering the headquarters of SMUD, one feels like he or she is walking into a big classroom of energy-related teaching and education on conservation. The president of the company points out that the operating principle of SMUD is to promote the use of renewable energies and the efficient use of energy, enabling electricity users to "do more with electricity".
 
SMUD headquarters offers many courses on the efficient use of electricity, such as lessons on lighting and energy-saving measures related to household appliances. Lessons on lighting have become a part of courses on internal decoration at American universities. In SMUD's lighting classrooms, experts explain how lighting changes an environment and use lighting to demonstrate appropriate installations for various settings such as a study in a house, a living room and an office.
 
In addition to various interactive exhibits on electric devices, there is also a small room equipped with all kinds of electrical equipment in the lobby at SMUD. Visitors are able to switch on lighting equipment, kitchen appliances and air conditioning devices to observe the functioning of these energy-saving machines. One essential idea emphasized by SMUD is that electric appliances that are too old consume big amounts of electricity and that the principle of replacing the old with the new should be followed with regard to the use of electric appliances.
 
SMUD mentions that the temperature in urban areas is higher than in rural areas during the summer and that the highest temperature is found on rooftops, parking lots and paved roads. However, such conditions can be improved. A long-term solution is to plant trees so that shade will bring a cooling effect. Reflecting and radiating materials can be used for rooftops to dissipate heat.
 
SMUD's free tree planting program, Free Shade Trees, initiated since the 1990s, receives considerable response from the community. The Company has helped community residents plant 350,000 mature trees measuring 4 to 7 feet in the past decade or so. In addition to donating trees, the tree planting program also provides guidance to the public on what positions around the house trees should be planted in to achieve the desired shade.
 
SMUD not only educates the public on environmental protection, but also actively involved the academic and industrial communities in developing renewable energy sources and nonpolluting energies. The Company has collaborated with such major automakers as Ford, Toyota and DaimlerChrysler in developing hydrogen fuel cells for cars. Employees of SMUD have tested newly developed models on the roads in the Sacramento area. The development of hydrogen fuel cell-powered cars is a long-term plan emphasized by the Bush administration and the state government of California, and SMUD is in a leadership position in the development of cars powered by energy that does not pollute the air.
 
Public utilities supply 15% of the total electric power used in the United States. The SMUD operating model is setting a good example not only in California, but also across the United States and around the world. A fact worth considering is that the rate SMUD charges for electricity is on average 30% lower than those charged by utilities in the surrounding areas.