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Our annual report highlights how quickly and successfully we responded and adapted to the changes brought by COVID-19, while also welcoming a new CEO and embarking on the most ambitious clean-energy effort of any large U.S. utility.
Download the report Read our Year in Review
Welcoming a new CEO
In October we welcomed Paul Lau as our General Manager and CEO, succeeding Arlen Orchard. Lau joined SMUD as a college intern in 1982 and most recently served as chief grid strategy operations officer, overseeing SMUD’s power supply and distributed energy strategies.
Keeping power flowing during pandemic
Even during a global pandemic, we kept our commitment to provide safe and reliable service to our customers.
From implementing safety and cleaning protocols, to closing our campuses and sending nearly two-thirds of our workers to work from home, we were able to keep the power flowing throughout one of the most tumultuous years in our history.
We also saw the toll that COVID-19 was taking on our residential and business customers. To help them through this difficult time, we suspended disconnection of power due to nonpayment, made it easier to qualify for low-income assistance, provided microloans to nonprofits impacted by the pandemic, and more.
2030 Zero Carbon Vision
We're charging toward being the first large utility in the United States to provide 100% carbon free energy for our customers.
SMUD’s Clean Energy Vision puts the capital region’s utility front and center in the fight against carbon emissions, climate change and air pollution. It’s a tall order - a challenge SMUD is determined to meet without sacrificing the affordable rates and reliable service our customers have come to expect. For those who might say we can’t possibly afford to do all this in the space of just nine years, our response is simple: We can’t afford not to do it.
