SAN DIEGO, Dec. 11, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Sempra
Energy's Chairman and CEO, Jeffrey W.
Martin, delivered the keynote speech today at S&P Global
Platts' Global Energy Outlook Forum, addressing the future of the
rapidly evolving energy industry, trends affecting the sector and
the need for leadership and innovation to address global
issues.
"Access to energy has improved the lives of billions by enabling
enhanced health care, greater food supply and technology
innovations," said Martin in his keynote address. "However, there
are a number of profound challenges facing communities around the
globe, including the task of modernizing the world's energy
infrastructure and delivering new energy resources."
Sempra Energy is working to capitalize on the opportunities
created by the energy transition and the
United States' growing leadership position in the global
energy market. Sempra Energy is focused on growing in the most
attractive markets in North
America with a view toward having a global impact. Through
its strategically located liquefied natural gas (LNG) development
projects, the company is developing the infrastructure that can
directly dispatch LNG into Atlantic and Pacific markets to deliver
cleaner, more reliable and more affordable energy to the world.
"The world is depending on new energy sources," said Martin. "So
many countries need access to cleaner, more secure forms of energy
to address the needs of their growing populations. This underlies
Sempra's belief that the 21st century is the 'Energy
Century' highlighting the need to deliver energy with
purpose – backed by strong leadership and a united focus. There is
a lot riding on the decisions we make."
Over the past few years, Sempra has set out to simplify its
business model and sharpen its focus on building North America's premier energy infrastructure
company. The company has reduced its geographic asset base, while
narrowing its focus in the energy value chain to transmission and
distribution assets that offer attractive returns. In fact, more
than 40 million consumers worldwide count on Sempra Energy to power
their lives. The company's public utilities power homes and
businesses in California and
Texas, while also building and
operating important energy infrastructure in the United States and Mexico.
The Global Energy Outlook Forum is an annual event held in
New York City, bringing together
approximately 200 energy executives and industry leaders to discuss
power and energy topics driven by social, political, and economic
issues around the world. The key themes for this year's event are
the energy transition and how the industry is investing in the
future.
Additionally, Martin has been nominated for the CEO of the Year
Award for the S&P Global Platts Global Energy Awards. Sempra
Energy is nominated for the Energy Transition Award, which
distinguishes companies at the forefront of the transition to a
low-carbon, sustainable economy.
About Sempra Energy
Sempra Energy's mission is to be North
America's premier energy infrastructure company. With more
than $60 billion in total assets
reported in 2018, the San
Diego-based company is the utility holding company with the
largest U.S. customer base. The Sempra Energy companies' more than
20,000 employees deliver energy with purpose to approximately 40
million consumers worldwide. The company is focused on the most
attractive markets in North
America, including California, Texas, Mexico
and the LNG export market. Sempra Energy has been consistently
recognized for its leadership in diversity and inclusion, and
sustainability, and is a member of the S&P 500 Utilities Index
and the Dow Jones Utility Index.
About S&P Global Platts
At S&P Global Platts, we provide the insights; you make
better informed trading and business decisions with confidence.
We're the leading independent provider of information and benchmark
prices for the commodities and energy markets. Customers in over
150 countries look to our expertise in news, pricing and analytics
to deliver greater transparency and efficiency to markets. S&P
Global Platts coverage includes oil and gas, power, petrochemicals,
metals, agriculture and shipping. S&P Global Platts is a
division of S&P Global, which provides essential intelligence
for individuals, companies and governments to make decisions with
confidence. For more information, visit www.platts.com.
This press release contains statements that are not
historical fact and constitute forward-looking statements within
the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of
1995. These statements can be identified by words such as
"believes," "expects," "anticipates," "plans," "estimates,"
"projects," "forecasts," "contemplates," "assumes," "depends,"
"should," "could," "would," "will," "confident," "may," "can,"
"potential," "possible," "proposed," "target," "pursue," "outlook,"
"maintain," or similar expressions, or when we discuss our
guidance, strategy, plans, goals, vision, mission, opportunities,
projections, initiatives, objectives or intentions. Forward-looking
statements are not guarantees of performance. They involve risks,
uncertainties and assumptions. Future results may differ materially
from those expressed in the forward-looking statements.
Factors, among others, that could cause our actual results
and future actions to differ materially from those described in any
forward-looking statements include risks and uncertainties relating
to: the greater degree and prevalence of wildfires in California in recent years and the risk that
we may be found liable for damages regardless of fault, such as
where inverse condemnation applies, and the risk that we may not be
able to recover any such costs from insurance, the California wildfire fund or in rates from
customers in California or
otherwise; actions and the timing of actions, including decisions,
investigations, new regulations and issuances of permits and other
authorizations and renewal of franchises by the Comisión Federal de
Electricidad (CFE), California Public Utilities Commission, U.S.
Department of Energy, California Department of Conservation's
Division of Oil, Gas, and Geothermal Resources, Los Angeles County
Department of Public Health, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency,
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, Pipeline and Hazardous
Materials Safety Administration, Public Utility Commission of
Texas, states, cities and
counties, and other regulatory and governmental bodies in the U.S.
and other countries in which we operate; the success of business
development efforts, construction projects, and major acquisitions,
divestitures and internal structural changes, including risks in
(i) obtaining or maintaining authorizations; (ii) completing
construction projects on schedule and budget; (iii) obtaining the
consent of partners; (iv) counterparties' financial ability or
otherwise to fulfill contractual commitments; (v) winning
competitively bid infrastructure projects; (vi) the ability to
complete contemplated acquisitions and/or divestitures and the
disruptions caused by such efforts; and (vii) the ability to
realize anticipated benefits from any of these efforts once
completed; the resolution of civil and criminal litigation,
regulatory investigations and proceedings, and arbitrations;
actions by credit rating agencies to downgrade our credit ratings
or those of our subsidiaries or to place those ratings on negative
outlook and our ability to borrow at favorable interest rates;
deviations from regulatory precedent or practice that result in a
reallocation of benefits or burdens among shareholders and
ratepayers; denial of approvals of proposed settlements; delays in,
or denial of, regulatory agency authorizations to recover costs in
rates from customers or regulatory agency approval for projects
required to enhance safety and reliability; and moves to reduce or
eliminate reliance on natural gas; weather conditions, natural
disasters, accidents, equipment failures, computer system outages,
explosions, terrorist attacks and other events that disrupt our
operations, damage our facilities and systems, cause the release of
harmful materials, cause fires and subject us to third-party
liability for property damage or personal injuries, fines and
penalties, some of which may not be covered by insurance (including
costs in excess of applicable policy limits), may be disputed by
insurers or may otherwise not be recoverable through regulatory
mechanisms or may impact our ability to obtain satisfactory levels
of affordable insurance; the availability of electric power and
natural gas and natural gas storage capacity, including disruptions
caused by failures in the transmission grid, limitations on the
withdrawal or injection of natural gas from or into storage
facilities, and equipment failures; risks posed by actions of third
parties who control the operations of our investments;
cybersecurity threats to the energy grid, storage and pipeline
infrastructure, the information and systems used to operate our
businesses, and the confidentiality of our proprietary information
and the personal information of our customers and employees;
expropriation of assets, the failure to honor the terms of
contracts by foreign governments and state-owned entities such as
the CFE, and other property disputes; the impact at San Diego Gas
& Electric Company on competitive customer rates and
reliability of electric transmission and distribution systems due
to the growth in distributed and local power generation and from
possible departing retail load resulting from customers
transferring to Direct Access and Community Choice Aggregation or
other forms of distributed and local power generation and the
potential risk of nonrecovery for stranded assets and contractual
obligations; Oncor Electric Delivery Company LLC's (Oncor) ability
to eliminate or reduce its quarterly dividends due to regulatory
capital requirements and other regulatory and governance
commitments, including the determination by a majority of Oncor's
independent directors or a minority member director to retain such
amounts to meet future requirements; changes in capital markets,
energy markets and economic conditions, including the availability
of credit; and volatility in foreign currency exchange, interest
and inflation rates and commodity prices and our ability to
effectively hedge the risk of such volatility; changes in foreign
and domestic trade policies and laws, including border tariffs and
revisions to or replacement of international trade agreements, such
as the North American Free Trade Agreement, that may increase our
costs or impair our ability to resolve trade disputes; actions of
activist shareholders, which could disrupt our operations by, among
other things, requiring significant time by management and our
board of directors; the impact of federal or state tax reform and
our ability to mitigate adverse impacts; and other uncertainties,
some of which may be difficult to predict and are beyond our
control.
These risks and uncertainties are further discussed in the
reports that Sempra Energy has filed with the U.S. Securities and
Exchange Commission (SEC). These reports are available through the
EDGAR system free-of-charge on the SEC's website, www.sec.gov, and
on the company's website, www.sempra.com. Investors should not rely
unduly on any forward-looking statements. These forward-looking
statements speak only as of the date hereof, and the company
undertakes no obligation to update or revise these forecasts or
projections or other forward-looking statements, whether as a
result of new information, future events or otherwise.
Sempra South American Utilities, Sempra North American
Infrastructure, Sempra LNG, Sempra Mexico, Sempra Texas Utilities,
Oncor Electric Delivery Company LLC (Oncor) and Infraestructura
Energética Nova, S.A.B. de C.V. (IEnova) are not the same companies
as the California utilities, San
Diego Gas & Electric Company (SDG&E) or Southern California
Gas Company (SoCalGas), and Sempra South American Utilities, Sempra
North American Infrastructure, Sempra LNG, Sempra Mexico, Sempra
Texas Utilities, Oncor and IEnova are not regulated by the
California Public Utilities Commission.
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SOURCE Sempra Energy