SMUD goes purple to celebrate the Sacramento Kings’ playoff run

Lights its downtown substation and customer service center purple

SMUD is lighting up its newest downtown substation in purple to celebrate the Sacramento Kings playoff run. The downtown substation, located at 6^th and G Streets, will be lit in a brilliant purple after Kings’ home and away wins for the duration of the playoff run. In addition, SMUD has lit up the logo on its customer service center building, which can be seen from Highway 50 at 65^th Street.

“SMUD is a long-time partner of the Sacramento Kings, and we’re proud to light our facilities purple to celebrate the Kings’ successful season and playoff wins,” said SMUD Chief Executive Officer & General Manager Paul Lau.

In collaboration with the city of Sacramento, Roebbelen Construction, Moniz Architecture and Sestak Lighting Design, SMUD’s approach to constructing its newest substation, Station G, was completely new. Designed as an artistic addition to the nearby Railyards, the substation architecture was designed to complement the downtown neighborhood and art scene, while providing safe and reliable power.

Because of its location, SMUD made significant efforts to enhance the downtown streetscape, including:

• a playful, illuminated façade that enlivens the intersection for safety and aesthetics. 
• the protective perimeter wall includes illuminated sculptural panels that emulate the Sacramento River.
• special exterior lighting that highlights the architecture, while also providing safety and security.
• computerized programmable lighting that can change into various colored light shows to celebrate different holidays and events throughout the year. 

The building is outfitted with 141 ColorGraze MX4 Powercore LED Philips lights which are lauded for their energy efficiency, high-performance and ability to capture the architectural personality of a structure.

“The creative design and lighting for Station G is helping us redefine our relationship with public spaces while contributing to energy conservation and artistic expression,” Lau said.

Print-quality files of the images above are available on request.

About SMUD

As the nation’s sixth-largest, community-owned, not-for-profit electric service provider, SMUD has been providing low-cost, reliable electricity to Sacramento County for more than 75 years. SMUD is a recognized industry leader and award winner for its innovative energy efficiency programs, renewable power technologies and for its sustainable solutions for a healthier environment.  SMUD’s power supply is on average about 50 percent carbon free and SMUD has a goal to reach zero carbon in its electricity supply by 2030. For more information on SMUD’s Zero Carbon Plan and its customer programs, visit smud.org.