Sacramento Municipal Utility District
Paul Lau is General Manager of the Sacramento Municipal Utility District. Chris Rogers is a partner in the West Market Leader, Energy Providers Practice at Guidehouse.
Large public power systems in the United States altogether serve some thirty million consumers across twenty-one states and Puerto Rico. These not-for profit utilities are owned by and accountable to the customers served.
The Sacramento Municipal Utility District is the nation's sixth-largest community-owned electric utility and serves some 1.5 million customers within nine hundred miles in and adjacent to Sacramento. It was one of the first large utilities in the U.S. to make a zero-carbon commitment in its electric supply by 2030.
Public Utilities Fortnightly's Steve Mitnick and Guidehouse's Chris Rogers caught up with the busy General Manager of this municipal utility, to find out how he is handling the decarbonization transition and many other issues. SMUD's Paul Lau has much to say on how he is successfully guiding the company.
PUF's Steve Mitnick: How do you see the current state of the utility industry and SMUD's role in it?
Paul Lau: This is a transformational time as the U.S. and the whole world are transitioning to a zero-carbon economy, and we're proud to be leading the way.
We were one of the first large utilities in the U.S. to make a commitment to zero-carbon in our electric supply by 2030. This is the most aggressive goal of any large utility in the U.S.