San Diego Union-Tribune

By Craig D. Rose
STAFF WRITER

February 10, 2005

SDG&E explores offering Web access

San Diego Gas & Electric is inching closer to a pilot project that would tap its electric grid to provide customers with high-speed Internet access.

SDG&E says it has a team at work defining the elements of a pilot project to provide high-speed access in the form of broadband over power lines, or BPL. The service could potentially reach all of the utility's 1.3 million customers.

The company had previously said only that it was studying the technology.

But SDG&E said it does not have a start date or even a target date for submitting its proposal to the California Public Utilities Commission, whose approval would be required to proceed with any pilot project using the regional power grid.

BPL would make dual use of SDG&E's electric transmission lines by having them carry high-speed Internet communications at the same time they deliver electricity to customers. Advocates say that among the advantages of BPL is its potential to provide high-speed access to all who are connected to the power grid.

A spokesman for SDG&E also said the technology might save money for the utility's electricity customers.

"BPL has the potential to increase operational efficiencies and also has the potential to bring broadband to isolated areas," spokesman Ed Van Herik said.

The utility's broadband service would compete with offerings from SBC and local cable companies.

In two regions of the country where such service is offered by utilities, the electricity providers price their service substantially below that of the existing broadband providers.

A municipally owned utility in Manassas, Va., for example, charges customers $27 per month for high-speed Internet access. A Cincinnati utility is charging from $27 to $39 per month, depending on the speed of the hookup.

These charges compare with $40 monthly or more typically charged for high-speed access by SBC and cable operators in this region.

"(Utilities) deliberately price their service less than cable," said Karen George, a principal with Primen, a unit of the Electric Power Research Institute that recently produced a report on the technology. "And they are getting some cable customers from their initial marketing."

George estimated that perhaps three dozen utilities are currently involved in pilot projects or testing of BPL. But SDG&E's project would be the first in California.

Pacific Gas & Electric Company, which serves the Bay Area, was exploring the possibility of a pilot project until AT&T, its partner in the project, bowed out last year as it retreated from consumer businesses. A spokesman for PG&E said the utility remained open to discussions with potential partners to continue the planning.

Southern California Edison, the state's other major utility, says the technology is promising. But because of technical challenges, it has no current plans to invest in BPL.

The PUC, meanwhile, recently issued a draft plan designed to expand broadband access in California, including the use of BPL.

"We just think it's crazy that California does not have a BPL pilot project," said Ross Lajeunesse, chief of staff for PUC commissioner Susan Davis, who is overseeing the effort to clarify the regulatory environment and encourage broadband projects.

Michael Shames, executive director of the Utility Consumers' Action Network, said he was "thrilled" by the prospect of BPL service coming to San Diego.

"The utility deploying its power lines to provide broadband access may be one of the best things SDG&E can give to the community," Shames said.

In addition to providing high-speed Internet access to areas without such service, BPL could allow a host of energy efficiency programs that would trim regional power use, he said. That includes such innovations as remote control of air conditioning.

Shames said California had lagged in deploying BPL because the state was preoccupied with the aftermath of the energy crisis. But he expects BPL technology costs to decline quickly, and he said such service should be regulated by the PUC.

"There is no easy way to (separate) this function from electricity service, he said. "It should be regulated and hopefully it will be regulated."