SAN DIEGO, March 23, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Sempra Energy
(NYSE: SRE) today announced that the Sempra Energy Foundation will
donate up to $500,000 to help small
to medium-sized nonprofits in Texas as they continue to serve critical needs
related to the ongoing coronavirus (COVID-19) situation.
"Many nonprofit organizations are faced with unprecedented
demand for their services due to the current COVID-19 situation,"
said Dennis V. Arriola, board chair
of the Sempra Energy Foundation, and executive vice president and
group president of Sempra Energy. "These grants will help them
to continue serving the needs of vulnerable populations who need
their support now more than ever."
The grants for Texas nonprofits
will be part of a larger $1.75
million Nonprofit Hardship Fund from the Sempra Energy
Foundation that will be made available to charities in the areas of
the United States where Sempra
Energy and its family of companies operate, including California, Texas and Louisiana.
"Texans from all walks of life are coming together to defeat
COVID-19 and its economic impact," said Texas State Senator
Kelly Hancock, the Chairman of the
Senate Business & Commerce Committee. "I appreciate the Sempra
Energy Foundation for stepping up to help local Texas nonprofits and communities with
resources to recover from the impact of the coronavirus. I am
confident that strong leadership from Texas citizens, employers, and charitable
foundations will expedite the recovery process and get our
communities and economies back on track."
The Sempra Energy Foundation's Nonprofit Hardship Fund will
provide grants of up to $50,000 to
nonprofit organizations serving populations affected by COVID-19.
This could include, among other things: support for the increased
volume of services being provided to clients, such as meals for
homebound seniors; support for unexpected expenses associated with
fulfilling those services; and/or support to sustain operations and
services to populations impacted by COVID-19 amid pandemic-related
cancellation of major fundraisers.
"Sempra continues to show its generosity and commitment to
standing in solidarity with some of the neediest members of the
Southeast Texas community," said
Dan Maher, president and CEO of the
Southeast Texas Food Bank. "After Hurricane Harvey's impact, Sempra
showed its great corporate spirit and rallied around our community
in a substantial way. It has been proactive in working with us to
address community needs ever since. So, while it is not surprising
that Sempra would wish to be a partner as we respond to the unique
challenges of the coronavirus, it is truly impressive that at a
moment when philanthropy is expected to dip because of the national
scope of this crisis, Sempra has risen up to make a huge investment
in the health and well-being of children in Southeast Texas."
Sempra Energy began operating in Texas more than 20 years ago. In May 2019, the company acquired a 50%
limited-partnership interest in Sharyland Utilities, LLC. Sempra
Energy is also the majority owner of Oncor Electric Delivery
Company LLC (Oncor), the largest electric transmission and
distribution utility in Texas,
serving more than 10 million consumers. In 2019, Sempra Energy also
supported Oncor's acquisition of InfraREIT, Inc. Through the
acquisitions of Oncor, InfraREIT and Sharyland, Sempra Energy has
made investments of more than $10
billion in Texas.
Additionally, Sempra Energy's subsidiary Sempra LNG is
developing the proposed Port Arthur LNG export project in
Jefferson County, Texas. Port
Arthur LNG is a multibillion-dollar infrastructure investment that
will enable the delivery of natural gas sourced from Texas to world markets. The project will also
support manufacturing, small businesses and the community by
creating thousands of jobs and contributing to the local economy.
Sempra LNG develops and builds natural gas liquefaction facilities
and is pursuing the development of five strategically located LNG
projects in North America with a
goal of delivering up to 45 million tonnes per annum of clean
natural gas to the largest world markets, which would make Sempra
Energy one of North America's
largest developers of LNG-export infrastructure facilities.
Visit the Sempra Energy Foundation website for information about
the foundation's Nonprofit Hardship Fund, and to learn how to apply
for a grant.
About the Sempra Energy Foundation
The Sempra Energy
Foundation is a 501(c)(3) private foundation based in San Diego.
The foundation was founded by Sempra Energy. As part of the
company's commitment to investing in the communities it serves, the
Sempra Energy Foundation and Sempra employees have donated more
than $100 million over the past five years.
About Sempra Energy
Sempra Energy's mission is to be
North America's premier energy
infrastructure company. With more than $65
billion in total assets reported in 2019, 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 over 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. The company was also named one of
the "World's Most Admired Companies" for 2020 by Fortune
Magazine.
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. Forward-looking statements are based on assumptions with
respect to the future, involve risks and uncertainties, and are not
guarantees of performance. Future results may differ materially
from those expressed in the 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," "target," "pursue," "outlook,"
"maintain," or similar expressions, or when we discuss our
guidance, strategy, goals, vision, mission, opportunities,
projections or intentions.
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: California wildfires and the
risk that we may be found liable for damages regardless of fault
and the risk that we may not be able to recover any such costs from
insurance, the wildfire fund established by California Assembly
Bill 1054 or in rates from customers; decisions, investigations,
regulations, issuances of permits and other authorizations, renewal
of franchises, and other actions by the Comisión Federal de
Electricidad, California Public Utilities Commission, U.S.
Department of Energy, Public Utility Commission of Texas, regulatory and governmental bodies and
jurisdictions in the U.S. and other countries in which we operate;
the success of business development efforts, construction projects
and major acquisitions and divestitures, including risks in (i) the
ability to make a final investment decision and completing
construction projects on schedule and budget, (ii) obtaining the
consent of partners, (iii) counterparties' financial or other
ability to fulfill contractual commitments, (iv) the ability to
complete contemplated acquisitions and/or divestitures, and (v) 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 to
place those ratings on negative outlook and our ability to borrow
at favorable interest rates; moves to reduce or eliminate reliance
on natural gas; the impact of the novel coronavirus on (i) our
ability to commence and complete capital projects and obtain
regulatory approvals, (ii) our current and prospective
counterparties, customers and partners, and (iii) the stability of
the capital markets; weather, natural disasters, accidents,
equipment failures, computer system outages and other events that
disrupt our operations, damage our facilities and systems, cause
the release of harmful materials, cause fires and subject us to
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; 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 of
foreign governments and state-owned entities to honor the terms of
contracts, and property disputes; the impact at San Diego Gas &
Electric Company (SDG&E) on competitive customer rates and
reliability due to the growth in distributed power generation and
from departing retail load resulting from customers transferring to
Direct Access, Community Choice Aggregation or other forms of
distributed power generation and the 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 and governance requirements
and commitments, including by actions of Oncor's independent
directors or a minority member director; 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 trade policies, laws and regulations,
including 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; the impact of changes to federal and state tax laws 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.
Sempra South American Utilities, Sempra North American
Infrastructure, Sempra LNG, Sempra Mexico, Sempra Texas Utilities,
Oncor and Infraestructura Energética Nova, S.A.B. de C.V. (IEnova)
are not the same companies as the California utilities, SDG&E or Southern
California Gas Company, 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