LOS ANGELES, Aug. 10, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Southern
California Gas Co. (SoCalGas) today announced it will again
award Climate Adaptation & Resiliency Grants to local
cities to support efforts to increase resiliency in the face of
climate change risks such as wildfires, floods, extreme heat,
drought, sea level rise, and other major weather events. The
competitive grant program provides $50,000 each to
three municipalities in the SoCalGas service territory and is
designed to help cities and counties reduce the impact of climate
change-related threats. The application process opens
today.
An advisory panel of planning and sustainability experts from
the Los Angeles Regional Collaborative for Climate Action and
Sustainability (LARC) and the American Planning
Association-California Chapter (APA-California) will assist
with the selection of the winning applications from across Southern
and Central California.
"Collaboration between utilities and municipalities is key to
resiliency when preparing for climate events such as wildfires,
earthquakes and floods," said Andy
Carrasco, vice president of strategy & engagement and
chief environmental officer at SoCalGas. "The natural gas
infrastructure is critical to the resiliency of the energy supply
during natural disasters and as we work to implement our
vision for a 21st century energy system, we look
forward to providing affordable and cleaner energy to cities while
helping them maintain resiliency."
"As LA's regional climate collaborative, LARC
supports cross-jurisdictional collaboration and facilitates
the exchange of information, best practices, and cutting-edge
research" said Erin Coutts, LARC's
executive director. "We are excited to advise a grant program that
encourages partnerships and will help our cities address
climate vulnerabilities in disadvantaged communities."
"As shapers of the built environment, planners recognize
our critical role in helping the communities we serve prepare
for the risks associated with climate change," said Ashley Atkinson, president-elect of the American
Planning Association's California Chapter. "We're grateful to
SoCalGas for helping local cities elevate climate adaptation among
competing priorities by providing grant funding for essential plan
updates."
Municipalities embarking on a Hazard Mitigation Plan Update,
Climate Adaptation and Resiliency Plan, or incorporating climate
change impacts into the Safety Element of their General
Plan are eligible to apply. Grant proposals will be assessed
according to the following criteria:
- DISADVANTAGED COMMUNITIES: SoCalGas encourages
applicants to address climate vulnerabilities in disadvantaged
communities.
- COLLABORATION: Reflect coordination and partnerships
with a diverse range of stakeholders (energy/water utilities,
transportation, housing, etc.).
- CO-BENEFITS: Identify potential co-benefits of the
adaptation work, such as benefits to public health, air quality,
reductions in greenhouse gas emissions, and the economy.
The annual grants will be funded by shareholders and will not
impact natural gas bills. The deadline to submit proposals
is September 30, 2020.
Last year, the City of Loma
Linda, the City of Malibu
and Los Angeles County were
awarded the three SoCalGas adaptation and resiliency grants.
Los Angeles County is utilizing its grant to prepare an
Adaptive Capacity Assessment for disadvantaged communities in
unincorporated Los Angeles County, which will inform and be
incorporated into the County's Safety Element Update. The
City of Loma Linda is making use
of its grant to update its local hazard mitigation plan as well as
the Safety Element of its General Plan. Finally, Malibu is applying its grant to create a
comprehensive and actionable Community Resilience and Adaptation
Plan that will be integrated into the Safety Element of the City's
General Plan.
A study on the impacts of four climate-related disasters on the
energy sector found that natural gas infrastructure exhibited
significant resilience because it is underground. In addition,
the study showed that backup generation powered by natural gas
pipelines can provide on-site electricity generation for hospitals,
relief centers and other critical facilities during a disaster. A
summary of its findings may be found here.
The climate grant program is part of SoCalGas'
vision to be the cleanest gas utility in North America.
As part of this plan, the utility committed to displacing 20% of
its traditional natural gas supply with RNG by 2030 through its
reimagined 21st century energy system. It also has the
potential to include several other clean energy strategies such as
hydrogen and will provide clean, reliable and affordable
energy.
For more information about SoCalGas' environmental initiatives,
go to socalgas.com/smart-energy.
About SoCalGas
Headquartered in Los
Angeles, SoCalGas® is the largest gas
distribution utility in the United States. SoCalGas
delivers affordable, reliable, clean and increasingly renewable gas
service to 21.8 million customers across 24,000 square
miles of Central and Southern California, where more than
90 percent of residents use natural gas for heating, hot water,
cooking, drying clothes or other uses. Gas delivered through the
company's pipelines also plays a key role in providing electricity
to Californians— about 45 percent of electric power
generated in the state comes from gas-fired power plants.
SoCalGas's vision is to be the cleanest gas utility
in North America, delivering affordable and increasingly
renewable energy to its customers. In support of that vision,
SoCalGas is committed to replacing 20 percent of its traditional
natural gas supply with renewable natural gas (RNG) by
2030. Renewable natural gas is made from waste created by
dairy farms, landfills and wastewater treatment plants. SoCalGas is
also committed to investing in its gas delivery infrastructure
while keeping bills affordable for our customers. From 2014 through
2018, the company invested nearly $6.5 billion to upgrade
and modernize its pipeline system to enhance safety and
reliability. SoCalGas is a subsidiary of Sempra Energy (NYSE:
SRE), an energy services holding company based in San Diego.
For more information visit socalgas.com/newsroom or
connect with SoCalGas
on Twitter (@SoCalGas), Instagram (@SoCalGas)
and Facebook.
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SOURCE Southern California Gas Company