LOS ANGELES, Sept. 8, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Southern California
Gas Co. (SoCalGas) today announced it has begun purchasing
renewable electricity under Southern California Edison's (SCE)
Green Rate Program everywhere the gas utility is eligible for
service by SCE. Including this new arrangement, SoCalGas estimates
that it will purchase nearly 53.7 million kilowatt hours of power
from renewable sources each year, reducing greenhouse gas emissions
by 38,000 metric tons annually, the equivalent of taking more than
8,000 gasoline-powered cars off the road each year.
This electricity is instrumental in powering a gas
infrastructure that serves SoCalGas's 22 million customers today
and can distribute cleaner fuels in the future. A total of 69
operating facilities, representing more than 80% of all electricity
demand at these facilities, will now use renewable power from the
electrical grid. This purchase places SoCalGas among the largest
SCE renewable energy customers. SoCalGas has made plans to enroll
its remaining eligible facilities and buildings in a similar
renewable power program by the end of the year.
"Increasing our usage of 100% renewable grid power at our
operating facilities is part of SoCalGas's goal to achieve net zero
emissions in our operations and delivery of energy by 2045," said
Jawaad Malik, SoCalGas vice
president of strategy and sustainability. "A clean energy future
will require the continued integration of the electric and gas
grids to achieve the clean, reliable, and affordable power that
California demands."
"Our Green Rate Program was designed for climate leader
customers like SoCalGas, who want to reduce greenhouse gas
emissions associated with electricity use while contributing to a
cleaner, healthier environment," said Mike
Marelli, vice president of SCE's Business Customer Division.
"Working together with SoCalGas in this leadership role will help
contribute to a clean and affordable energy future for all."
"SoCalGas switching their eligible facilities to 100% renewable
grid energy is a commendable action that will help reduce the state
greenhouse gas emissions, and sets an example for companies across
the nation who will play a vital role in meeting our ambitious
climate goals," said Assemblymember Chris
Holden, Chair of the Assembly Utilities and Energy
Committee.
The purchase of 100% renewable electricity under SCE's Green
Rate Program includes five Community Choice Aggregation (CCA)
programs that SoCalGas subscribes to within the SCE territory.
As part of its climate commitment released in March 2021, SoCalGas announced a goal to achieve
net zero energy for its newly constructed buildings and major
renovations of buildings over 10,000 square feet by 2025 and 100%
of its buildings by 2035.
In addition, SoCalGas is in the process of replacing 50% of its
over-the-road fleet with electric, hybrid, renewable natural gas,
and fuel electric vehicles by 2025. SoCalGas's goal is to replace
100% of its over-the-road fleet with zero emissions over-the-road
fleet by 2035. In support of this goal, SoCalGas submitted Charge
Ready Transport (CRT) applications with SCE to install electric
vehicle charging infrastructures at its Energy Resource Center in
Downey and its Compton and Pico
Rivera facilities; combined these projects are estimated to
net more than 100 new charging stations.
For more information on the work SoCalGas is doing to advance
the use of renewable gases, click here.
About SoCalGas
Headquartered in Los Angeles, SoCalGas® is
the largest gas distribution
utility in the United States. SoCalGas delivers
affordable, reliable, and increasingly renewable gas service to
21.8 million consumers across 24,000 square miles of
Central and Southern California. Gas delivered through the
company's pipelines will continue to play a key role in
California's clean energy
transition—providing electric grid reliability and supporting wind
and solar energy deployment.
SoCalGas' mission is to build the cleanest, safest and most
innovative energy company in America. In support of that mission,
SoCalGas is committed to the goal of achieving net-zero
greenhouse gas emissions in its operations and delivery of
energy by 2045 and to replacing 20 percent of its traditional
natural gas supply to core customers 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 customers. SoCalGas is a
subsidiary of Sempra (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.
This press release contains statements that constitute
forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private
Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking
statements are based on assumptions with respect to the future,
involve risks and uncertainties, and are not guarantees. Future
results may differ materially from those expressed in any
forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements
represent our estimates and assumptions only as of the date of this
press release. We assume no obligation to update or revise any
forward-looking statement as a result of new information, future
events or other factors. In this press release, forward-looking
statements can be identified by words such as "believes,"
"expects," "anticipates," "plans," "estimates," "projects,"
"forecasts," "should," "could," "would," "will," "confident,"
"may," "can," "potential," "possible," "proposed," "in process,"
"under construction," "in development," "target," "outlook,"
"maintain," "continue," "goal," "aim," "commit," or similar
expressions, or when we discuss our guidance, priorities, strategy,
goals, vision, mission, opportunities, projections, intentions or
expectations. Factors, among others, that could cause actual
results and events to differ materially from those described in any
forward-looking statements include risks and uncertainties relating
to: decisions, investigations, regulations, issuances or
revocations of permits and other authorizations, renewals of
franchises, and other actions by (i) the California Public
Utilities Commission (CPUC), U.S. Department of Energy, and other
regulatory and governmental bodies and (ii) states, counties,
cities and other jurisdictions in the U.S. in which we do business;
the success of business development efforts and construction
projects, including risks in (i) completing construction projects
or other transactions on schedule and budget, (ii) the ability to
realize anticipated benefits from any of these efforts if
completed, and (iii) obtaining the consent of partners or other
third parties; the resolution of civil and criminal litigation,
regulatory inquiries, investigations and proceedings, and
arbitrations, including, among others, those related to the natural
gas leak at the Aliso Canyon natural gas storage facility; actions
by credit rating agencies to downgrade our credit ratings or to
place those ratings on negative outlook and our ability to borrow
on favorable terms and meet our substantial debt service
obligations; actions to reduce or eliminate reliance on natural
gas, including any deterioration of or increased uncertainty in the
political or regulatory environment for local natural gas
distribution companies operating in California; weather, natural disasters,
pandemics, accidents, equipment failures, explosions, acts of
terrorism, information system outages or other events that disrupt
our operations, damage our facilities and systems, cause the
release of harmful materials, cause fires or subject us to
liability for property damage or personal injuries, fines and
penalties, some of which may not be covered by insurance, 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
natural gas and natural gas storage capacity, including disruptions
caused by limitations on the withdrawal of natural gas from storage
facilities; the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on capital
projects, regulatory approvals and the execution of our operations;
cybersecurity threats to the storage and pipeline infrastructure,
information and systems used to operate our businesses, and
confidentiality of our proprietary information and personal
information of our customers and employees, including ransomware
attacks on our systems and the systems of third-party vendors and
other parties with which we conduct business; volatility in
inflation and interest rates and commodity prices and our ability
to effectively hedge these risks; changes in tax and trade
policies, laws and regulations, including tariffs and revisions to
international trade agreements that may increase our costs, reduce
our competitiveness, or impair our ability to resolve trade
disputes; 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 the company
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 Sempra's website,
www.sempra.com. Investors should not rely unduly on any
forward-looking statements.
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SOURCE Southern California Gas Company