Ensuring all our customers and community benefit from a clean energy future

We made significant progress on our 2030 Zero Carbon Plan this year through customer outreach and engagement, all while increasing opportunities for all customers to benefit from a clean energy future, especially small businesses and under-resourced communities.

SMUD employee at one of hundreds of volunteer events.

Our Community Impact Plan is central to our commitment to ensuring everyone benefits from the transition to a clean energy future. Through it, we’re creating opportunities for all communities to come along with us on our road to zero and making even deeper impacts where it’s needed most. SMUD works with 130+ community-based partnerships supporting environmental justice and equity, including programs for zero carbon workforce development, clean energy and STEM education and inclusive economic development outcomes. To better reach small business owners, we led several inclusive economic development events, highlighting SEED (Supplier Education and Economic Development) contracting opportunities with SMUD that benefit our local small businesses.

Our employee giving program, SMUD Cares, held more than 50 events to benefit our local community and nonprofits, and our employee volunteers donated 2,600+ hours of service and personally gave more than $421,000 to local nonprofits.

Determined to ensure our entire community benefits economically from a clean energy future, we expanded our workforce training and development in 2023, with a focus on providing access to skilled trades for those from historically under-resourced communities. We’re putting in the infrastructure to grow our local economy equitably and making room for everyone to participate through programs like our new pre-apprenticeship electrician training, as well as events like our first regional Workforce Development Summit and our Women in Skilled Trades Day.

In 2023, we had almost 100,000 people signed up to join the charge with SMUD as Clean PowerCity Champions. Customers are electrifying their homes, driving electric, saving through SMUD’s robust incentives and rebates and taking actions, small and large, to make a difference. Our multi-language integrated “Contact SMUD first” marketing campaign encouraged customers to contact SMUD before buying or leasing an electric vehicle so we can provide guidance on charging, helping save customers money and minimize potential grid impacts.