Sacramento Municipal Utility District
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. Today, SMUD’s power supply is on average about 50 percent carbon free and SMUD has a goal to reach zero carbon in its electricity production by 2030. Learn more about what it's like to work at SMUD and see all available positions at smud.org/Careers.www.smud.org
118
MENTIONS
27
EPISODES
23
PODCASTS
Search complete. 118 mentions across 27 episodes found for "Sacramento Municipal Utility District".
Oct 29, 2026
Jimmy JettHOST
The solar is in.
Jimmy JettHOST
SMUD
TylerHOST
has still not connected it with the safety switch.
TylerHOST
Got it.
TylerHOST
Oh.
Jimmy JettHOST
Yeah.
TylerHOST
So SMUD has to come in and connect you, the solar, the batteries and the power grid all into all together.
Jimmy JettHOST
Okay.
Joellen BrooksGUEST
As long as we're prepared, then.
Kaylee CornellHOST
Yeah, I will say I've seen SMUD going around repairing a lot of telephone poles preemptively.
Kaylee CornellHOST
I don't know if you guys have seen that.
Kaylee CornellHOST
There's been a lot of pole replacements in Fair Oaks in the last couple weeks.
Matt ChesterHOST
It's got four legs, a thermal camera, and no interest in chasing squirrels.
Matt ChesterHOST
At Sacramento Municipal Utility District, a robot dog named Astro is patrolling substations, spotting problems humans might miss, and even doubling as security.
Matt ChesterHOST
And now, it's headed to all 270 plus SMUD substations.
Matt ChesterHOST
Today, SMUD's Director of Substation Telecommunications and Metering Assets, Eric Poth, takes us inside the program and shows us what happens when robotics meet the grid.
Matt ChesterHOST
If you care about keeping the lights on and crews out of harm's way, as well as what makes a successful utility pilot program, you'll want to listen closely.
Matt ChesterHOST
So Eric, can you start by giving us an overview of this RoboDog and exactly what problem you were trying to solve when you kind of first explored these type of robotics?
Eric PoffGUEST
The problem that I was trying to solve, essentially, we have 270 substations here at Sacramento Municipal Utility District, and that requires a monthly visit to them, which is part of our general order 175 requirements.
Eric PoffGUEST
We try to comply with the California Public Utility Commission just to Voluntarily, we're not required to do that.
Ronnie LipschutzHOST
Let's make another distinction.
Ronnie LipschutzHOST
SMUD, the Sacramento Municipal Utility District, is a municipal utility.
Ronnie LipschutzHOST
It has its own generating facilities.
Ronnie LipschutzHOST
It buys its own power.
Ronnie LipschutzHOST
That's basically because Sacramento never allowed PG&E to buy it out, correct?
Bob KrauseGUEST
Right.
Bob KrauseGUEST
There are 44 municipal utilities in the state and SMUD is the poster child for them.
Bob KrauseGUEST
And the cost of energy is lower.
Paul MitchellGUEST
Interestingly, a lot of these early voters are just kind of the people who return everything by mail quickly.
Paul MitchellGUEST
They get their SMUD bill.
Paul MitchellGUEST
They get their PG&E bill.
Paul MitchellGUEST
They get their, you know, anything they get in the mail.
RosieGUEST
Our children had the most profound experiences.
RosieGUEST
It was like all of a sudden the shift went from the children getting toys to, you know, let's put our toys out on the driveway so that we could raise funds for the SMUD bill.
RosieGUEST
Like, Like, my children just suddenly started giving from their heart.
RosieGUEST
It was so beautiful.
Meredith FowlieGUEST
They tend to be smaller and they're not under PUC regulation.
Meredith FowlieGUEST
And I think Mike is correct to say, you know, look at SMUD, look at LADWP, their rates are much lower.
Meredith FowlieGUEST
I just wanted to make the potentially obvious point that their wildfire risk is much lower.
Meredith FowlieGUEST
PG&E has tens of thousands of lines running through high-risk areas.
Meredith FowlieGUEST
SMUD has none.
Meredith FowlieGUEST
So I think it's a valid comparison, but I think we just need to be careful.
Meredith FowlieGUEST
And the reason I wanted to interject is when you think about San Francisco, if you're living in San Francisco and you're paying for wildfire in your electricity bill, you're sort of rightly questioning whether it might be better for San Francisco to separate.
Mikah SargentHOST
And so I'm asking for a friend who lives in Sacramento.
Mikah SargentHOST
And just so you know, whenever I show you this prompt, SMUD, S-M-U-D, is Sacramento's electric utility.
Mikah SargentHOST
So what was the prompt? Let's take a look.
Mikah SargentHOST
The prompt that I used across the board was this.
9 MINS LATER
Mikah SargentHOST
Sources, 12.
Mikah SargentHOST
10 of them were official.
Mikah SargentHOST
SMUD, the IRS, TechClean California, Energy Star, the California Energy Commission.
Mikah SargentHOST
And then the other two were a couple of cost guides that helped it to determine the pricing for the install.
Mikah SargentHOST
And so I'm asking for a friend who lives in Sacramento.
Mikah SargentHOST
And just so you know, whenever I show you this prompt, SMUD, S-M-U-D, is Sacramento's electric utility.
Mikah SargentHOST
So what was the prompt? Let's take a look.
Mikah SargentHOST
The prompt that I used across the board was this.
9 MINS LATER
Mikah SargentHOST
Sources, 12.
Mikah SargentHOST
10 of them were official.
Mikah SargentHOST
SMUD, the IRS, TechClean California, Energy Star, the California Energy Commission.
Mikah SargentHOST
And then the other two were a couple of cost guides that helped it to determine the pricing for the install.
Christina ClevelandGUEST
And we want to be there for them.
Cam VillaHOST
Christina, can you talk about some of the programs that are connected outside of obviously food delivery, like such as the CalFresh and the SMUD Energy Help?
Christina ClevelandGUEST
Yes.
Christina ClevelandGUEST
So in addition to providing food, we have a department dedicated to CalFresh.
Cam VillaHOST
Well, you're not in a position to say no.
Cam VillaHOST
Right.
Cam VillaHOST
I mean, obviously, with all the services that you provide, what does the SMUD Energy help provide?
Christina ClevelandGUEST
So we partner with SMUD, and they have a low-cost energy utility assistance program.
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