San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E) awarded American Internet Services with a certificate of excellence to commend their participation in SDG&E’s Demand Response and Energy Efficiency programs.

American Internet Services (AIS) has been a committed participant in SDG&E Demand Response programs for over a year and is continuing with this program in 2008. “We joined this program in 2007,” says Alessandra Carrasco, Chief Operating Officer of AIS, “both to limit our environmental footprint and to curb excess electrical usage.”

The program encourages AIS to control its electrical consumption as part of SDG&E overall efforts to stabilize the utility grid during electricity usage spikes. AIS implemented energy-saving measures to optimize their electricity usage without affecting performance, including:

• Replacing equipment with Energy Star-compliant hardware (so equipment powers up slowly, flattening energy spikes)
• Installing variable-frequency drives (VFDs) on large equipment to reduce their energy consumption.

“AIS’s participation in demand-response events helped us manage electricity demand during several critical times,” writes Hal Snyder, SDG&E’s vice president of Customer Programs, in his April 11 letter of appreciation, “and helped make a difference for our communities, the region and the environment.”

SDG&E’s demand limiting programs were launched in 2004 as an answer to previous energy shortages. These programs have two goals:

• Reduce the amount of energy used during high-demand periods
• Stabilize systemwide energy use to prevent blackouts or outages

The Demand Response programs temporarily reduce and shift energy loads during high demand periods. Spikes in systemwide consumption, such as during unusually hot days, can cause blackouts. By reducing or moving electrical consumption during peak demand, the overall electrical grid is stabilized. As the certificate of excellence states, SDG&E’s “demand response programs are designed to conserve energy resources and maintain energy reliability.”

The Demand Response program is a voluntary way for businesses to temporarily cut back on energy use in a defined, controlled way. Both of AIS’s San Diego data center campuses are participating in Demand Response and Energy Efficiency programs as a continuing commitment to serving their community.

AIS has been providing colocation, outsourced data center solutions and Internet services since 1994 to Fortune 500 clients in a variety of industries, including leading financial institutions, credit card companies, government contractors, IT outsourcing providers, pharmaceuticals manufacturers, and online entertainment and gaming companies, among others. AIS also serves a broad range of small and medium-sized business customers.