There are many reasons to love Northern California, from the great weather to the concentration of talent. The “megaregion” that stretches from Monterey up to the northern San Joaquin Valley is one of the world’s great economic powerhouses. If it were its own country, according to rail policy group Link21, Northern California would be the 21st largest economy in the world. But in recent years, the area’s infrastructure has taken a hit thanks to an increasingly unreliable electrical grid that is costing companies billions of dollars a year. The good news is McClellan Business Park in Sacramento is staying ahead of the curve when it comes to providing reliable power to more than 300 companies that call the former military base home.
“Reliability of electricity is a priority for any business in any location,” says Frank Myers, executive vice president and chief operating officer for McClellan Park. “It’s a critical component, and we are fortunate to partner with Sacramento Municipal Utility District (SMUD) to offer far more reliable power than many other areas in Northern California.”
McClellan Park started as a U.S. Air Force Base in 1935 and served various purposes before closing in 2003. Over the last 20 years, the area has been transformed into a major innovation hub in the Sacramento area and is now at nearly full occupancy despite the national pandemic-related downturn in the commercial real estate sector. “We upgraded the entire infrastructure here — from roads to storm drains — when the base shifted to civilian use; and as part of the upgrade, we began to receive our electricity from SMUD,” Myers says.
One of the key advantages of this partnership is the cost of energy, which is 30% lower than in other parts of the state.* These savings are passed to McClellan Park tenants, making the area attractive from a dollars-and-cents standpoint. In addition, the SMUD infrastructure has been largely immune from the rolling blackouts other energy providers have been forced to implement to keep their grids running. This is especially important because the annual increase in wildfires has proven to be problematic for PG&E and other utilities in the Northern California megaregion.
The consistent access to power at McClellan Park, combined with lower costs, has made it a magnet for data centers and call centers that depend on reliable electricity to meet their service goals. Prime Data Centers operates its largest facility in McClellan Park, and both Quest Technology and Consolidated Communications (which was founded in 1914 as the Roseville Telephone Co.) also have significant operations in the area.
“SMUD has a long history of reliability, and they are incredibly responsive,” Myers says. “They have been a great partner for us from day one, and we are especially fortunate to rely on them for all of our electrical needs.”
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* According to McClellan Park
