IDC (News - Alert) Energy Insights and Intelligent Utility magazine, a provider of insightful fact-based research and consulting services, announced that the annual UtiliQ rankings have been released and Sempra Energy’s (News - Alert) San Diego Gas & Electric has come out on top of the list for the third consecutive year.

According to the magazine, the UtiliQ was developed in response to a number of issues and challenges in the rapidly evolving electric utility industry. The UtiliQ ranking defines an intelligent utility as a company that applies information to energy, maximizing its reliability, affordability, and sustainability from generation to end users. The rankings also cater to the interest in providing a way for utilities to benchmark their intelligence and measure progress against their stated goals and objectives.

The newly released UtiliQ rankings had the benefit of more comprehensive data sources including SNL Energy, AWEA, SEPA, NREL, FERC, the Consortium of Energy Efficiency, and the IDC Energy Insights Smart Meter tracker and the magazine claimed that the analysis was also based on better data on renewable generation, as well as energy efficiency, smart meter implementations, and demand response at the utilities.

The rankings are based on a company's performance using five quantifiable intelligence metrics: productivity, renewable energy, smart grid initiatives, demand response/energy efficiency (DR/EE) and IT investment. This year more than 78 American utilities were rated and all but three of the top 25 utilities attained ‘near genius’ scores in smart grid IQ.

Officials with the magazine remarked that utilities are continuing to increase intelligence in some critical areas and they were fortunate to gain greater and more comprehensive access to reliable data on which to base their evaluations. For example, while demand response programs are not new to the industry, they believe demand response to be a top priority in utilities in the next five years so that is reflected in their intelligence ratings. The intelligent utility is steadfastly and thoughtfully re-aligning their objectives, business processes and technology to prepare for the future.