Developer Connections Winter 2021
Commercial Development adding business attraction
As elsewhere, 2021 brought significant changes at SMUD and for the Commercial Development Team. A new executive team and revolutionary climate change strategy realigned business units to better serve our customers.
Looking ahead to the New Year, we’re happy to continue to see an increasingly robust marketplace that shows unprecedented development activity in all sectors, including residential, commercial and industrial spaces.
To that end, we’re happy to introduce to you, Val Ivanov. You may already be familiar with him, as he comes with years of SMUD and industry experience, most recently from the Commercial Delivery team, where he represented commercial property manager segment/customers as a Strategic Account Advisor.
Val will be our lead on all business attraction, retention and expansion efforts and he’ll also contribute to other Commercial Development projects.
The Commercial Development team is here for you
The SMUD Commercial Development team is here to support your projects and getting to the finish line. If you have any issues or proposed projects, please reach out to the team. We’re here to help!
Commercial Development year in review - 2021
As 2021 came to a close, we reflected on the year and the overall real estate activity in our service territory. 2021 produced a steady increase in real estate activity, especially in the industrial and residential sectors.
Industrial activity:
In 2021,the areas of Metro Air Park, McClellan Business Park, Elk Grove and Rancho Cordova saw significant growth in industrial activity. The pandemic brought an increase in internet activity and the e-commerce sector has sustained that growth. We’ve been working pro-actively to ensure SMUD has capacity for larger-scale projects through coordination with both developers and SMUD technical teams, ensuring that we stay ahead of the project needs.
Residential activity:
On the residential side, North Natomas, Elk Grove, Rancho Cordova and Folsom have seen sustained and steady growth. The Folsom South area has continued to close homes and start construction on neighborhoods. The North Lake project has continued to build rapidly and SMUD has consistently installed transformers and meters in that neighborhood. New neighborhoods in Rancho Cordova and Elk Grove are developing rapidly and SMUD continues to install infrastructure and meters on new homes.
SMUD and supply chain
From a SMUD perspective, we have not been immune to the supply chain issues. It’s taking longer to get standard equipment, including conduit, switchgear and transformers. We’ve been working proactively with vendors to ensure that these supply chain issues do not affect SMUD development customers.
Energy-efficient cooking with induction cooktops
Induction cooking refers to the generation of heat using magnetism. It’s a flameless technology that directly heats cookware, increasing efficiency and decreasing the amount of heat released into the environment. An induction cooktop is a cooking surface that heats by transferring currents from an electromagnetic field located below the glass surface directly to the magnetic induction cookware placed above.
While gas and electric stoves heat cookware indirectly by first heating a coil, burner or producing a flame, induction cooking provides direct heat to the cookware which then passes the radiant energy on to the food. Instead of a heating element, magnets are used to stimulate the atoms inside your cookware and heat the pot or pan.
Induction provides many benefits:
- Safety & convenience combined – Overall, kitchen safety is improved for adults and children, as well as professional chefs. Without an open flame, accidental injuries or kitchen/grease fires are greatly reduced. Induction cooktops are also safer because they’re free of gas-related dangers, such as gas leaks or gas line breaks.
- Faster cooking with more control – An induction stove can send energy into cookware faster than a gas, traditional coil or radiant electric stove. This means reaching desired cooking temperatures or boiling water faster. Cooking temperatures can be raised or lowered instantly. With no grate, coil or radiant burner to heat, all energy goes directly into the cookware. Digital controls allow setting an exact and repeatable amount of heat without having to judge a variable flickering flame.
- Less cleaning, more cooking –Induction stoves have a smooth, easy-to-clean glass surface without grates, nooks or crannies where grease and spills can accumulate. Cut down on your team’s cleaning time and focus on what you're really in the kitchen to do: cook.
- Save $ on cooling with cleaner air – Without an open flame, plus the direct application of energy into the cookware rather than the air, kitchens stay cool and more comfortable. Induction stoves do not emit any toxic gases (such as nitrogen dioxide, carbon monoxide and formaldehyde) that can cause asthma and other respiratory problems.
- Climate-friendly – Induction stoves use electricity while gas stoves contribute to climate change by emitting carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. California is making its electricity generation more climate friendly by increasing renewable sources that do not emit carbon dioxide.
Learn more about induction cooking by attending an Energy Wise seminar for food service professionals. Instant rebates are now available on select food service equipment through participating retailers. See a detailed list of eligible equipment or visit SMUD's Express Energy Solutions page for more information.
Make the switch and help us reach our goal to eliminate carbon emissions from our power supply by 2030. Upgrade your natural gas fired stovetop to a more efficient induction cooktop today.