Wednesday, November 18, 2009

NEWS RELEASE -- SDG&E, SD Unified Partnership Saves Parents Money

News Release from the San Diego Unified School District, November 18, 2009

SDG&E, SD UNIFIED PARTNERSHIP SAVES PARENTS MONEY

Data Sharing Increases Enrollment in Utility Discount Program

SAN DIEGO ­ An innovative partnership between the San Diego Unified School
District and San Diego Gas and Electric Company has reduced gas and electric
bills by 20% for 2,719 San Diego families, with more to come.

Under this innovative partnership, the school district is sharing its list
of families qualifying for the federal Free and Reduced Priced Lunch Program
with the utility. Chances are, families whose children qualify for free
lunch also qualify for the California Alternative Rate for Energy (CARE)
program. The program also helps the school district, since SDG&E provides a
$15 per household payment for each new CARE program participants from the
program.

The first check from SDG&E to San Diego Unified, for $40,785, was presented
at the Board of Education meeting on Nov. 17.

³We¹re happy that SDG&E is able to bring this program to our families,² said
Shelia Jackson, SDUSD Board of Education President. ³In this difficult
economy, every bit helps.²

The CARE program offers income-qualified households a 20 percent discount on
their energy bill.

³This extraordinary partnership between the school district and SDG&E just
shows how much caring there is for our San Diego families both at school and
at our company,² said Mitch Mitchell, regional vice president for external
affairs for San Diego Gas & Electric. ³This is a program that¹s available to
all low income customers in California. Working with San Diego Unified has
made contacting these families just that much easier.²

The first phase of the program resulted in 2,719 families signing up for the
CARE program. At least two more groups of addresses will be forwarded to the
utility over the coming months.

For more information on the CARE program, contact SDG&E at (800) 644-6133.

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Jack Brandais
Communications Department
San Diego Unified School District
(619) 725-5570 (Desk)
(619) 607-0477 (Cell)


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