SoCalGas Submits 2024-2027 Rate Request to Invest in Infrastructure Reliability and Resiliency, Furthering California's Clean Energy Goals

May 17, 2022

Company's Rate Request Submitted to California Public Utilities Commission

LOS ANGELES, May 17, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- To provide reliable and safe gas delivery to the company's 22 million residential and commercial consumers and to support a reliable, resilient and increasingly interdependent and clean gas and electric energy system, Southern California Gas Co. (SoCalGas) submitted its 2024-2027 General Rate Case (GRC) yesterday to the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC), as required by law. The application is SoCalGas' forecast of infrastructure investments that support innovation as well as costs for essential operation and maintenance of the gas system and will support SoCalGas' ongoing efforts to build the cleanest, safest and most innovative energy company in America.

"SoCalGas files this GRC during a time of transformative change," said SoCalGas President Maryam Brown. "Events in California and around the world have shown us that maintaining the safety, reliability, and affordability of our local energy systems remain critically important. Our rate request is the blueprint for how we can continue to support safe, affordable and reliable energy while we invest to accelerate California's clean energy transition."

Following a rigorous analysis of risks and needs, SoCalGas' general rate case filing is a projection of what it will cost the company to operate, maintain, and upgrade its system in 2024 to continue the safe and reliable delivery of energy to its customers. Rates for the subsequent three years will depend on formulas to be approved by the CPUC.

If approved by the CPUC, the critical investments proposed in this rate request are estimated to increase average residential customer bills by approximately $8.60 per month in 2024 when compared to 2023.

"Customers today face rising costs for many essentials they need, including energy, and there is never a good time to ask customers to pay more. Every dollar we ask customers to pay will result in long-term benefits for future generations," Brown said. "This proposal represents the conscientious efforts of hundreds of SoCalGas employees to find the balance between managing costs and making the infrastructure investments that are essential to California's clean energy future."

According to the latest American Gas Association survey of peer companies, SoCalGas was among the lowest average gas bills in the nation.

SoCalGas' 2024-2027 rate request includes investments in four key areas: maintaining and enhancing reliability and safety, supporting sustainability, and promoting innovation and technology to meet operational and customer needs and workforce development.

Enhancing Safety and Reliability

Safety and reliability are cornerstones of SoCalGas' business and operations. Approximately 97% of capital expenditures and the majority of operations and maintenance expenditures in the proposal would be dedicated to support safety, reliability, and maintenance measures. Major investments include: SoCalGas' Gas Integrity Management Programs, which identify, evaluate and reduce integrity risks for the gas system and the company's Safety Management System, a comprehensive system designed to protect employee and contractor safety, customer and public safety, and the safety of the Company's gas system.

Championing Sustainability

This rate request marks the first by SoCalGas to include sustainability, alongside safety and reliability, as one of the driving forces to support investments. This is consistent with SoCalGas' ASPIRE 2045 Sustainability Strategy. SoCalGas' ASPIRE 2045 Sustainability Strategy is a holistic and broad environmental, social, and governance strategy that includes SoCalGas' industry leading aspiration to achieve net-zero emissions by 2045.

Brown continued, "ASPIRE 2045's success will require public policy support and alignment. It is designed to have, and is already having, a positive impact on the communities we serve and strengthening business outcomes that benefit both our customers and the energy infrastructure of the future."

Accelerating the transition to increasingly cleaner energy will require investment in activities that produce immediate and near-term emissions reductions such as renewable natural gas and modernized electric fleets, and that also lay the groundwork for deeper systemwide decarbonization over the long-term (e.g., hydrogen pilots).

Promoting Innovation and Technology

SoCalGas' rate request promotes new innovations and technology to meet customers' evolving needs. Proposed investments to modernize the company's Customer Information System platform, for example, are aimed at improving the customer service experience.

In addition, SoCalGas' proposal includes investments to maintain a strong cybersecurity program, a critical need today and going forward, to protect critical information and sensitive customer data.

Developing our Workforce

Skilled employees are essential to providing safe and reliable service to customers and for helping the company meet its sustainability goals. SoCalGas' employee training, workforce planning, and total rewards programs are structured to attract and maintain a high-performing workforce.

General Rate Case Process

SoCalGas and other investor-owned utilities in California file General Rate Case applications with the CPUC every four years. The CPUC oversees the proceedings, which include numerous regulatory and public hearings with testimony from ratepayer advocates, environmental groups, and others. The general rate request process is scheduled to take between 18 months and two years and is expected to conclude in late 2023.

More information about SoCalGas' General Rate Request can be found at http://socalgas.com/rates.

 

About SoCalGas
SoCalGas is the largest gas distribution utility in the United States, serving more than 21 million consumers across approximately 24,000 square miles of Central and Southern California. Our mission is: Safe, Reliable, and Affordable energy delivery today. Ready for tomorrow. SoCalGas is a recognized leader in the energy industry and has been named Corporate Member of the Year by the Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce for its volunteer leadership in the communities it serves. SoCalGas is a subsidiary of Sempra (NYSE: SRE), a leading North American energy infrastructure company. For more information, visit SoCalGas.com/newsroom or connect with SoCalGas on social media @SoCalGas.

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements are based on assumptions about the future, involve risks and uncertainties, and are not guarantees. Future results may differ materially from those expressed or implied in any forward-looking statement. 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 otherwise.

In this press release, forward-looking statements can be identified by words such as “believe,” “expect,” “intend,” “anticipate,” “contemplate,” “plan,” “estimate,” “project,” “forecast,” “envision,” “should,” “could,” “would,” “will,” “confident,” “may,” “can,” “potential,” “possible,” “proposed,” “in process,” “construct,” “develop,” “opportunity,” “preliminary,” “initiative,” "target," "outlook," “optimistic,” “poised,” “positioned,” “maintain,” “continue,” “progress,” “advance,” “goal,” “aim,” “commit,” or similar expressions, or when we discuss our guidance, priorities, strategies, goals, vision, mission, projections, intentions or expectations.

Factors, among others, that could cause actual results and events to differ materially from those expressed or implied in any forward-looking statement include: decisions, denials of cost recovery, audits, investigations, inquiries, ordered studies, regulations, denials or revocations of permits, consents, approvals or other authorizations, renewals of franchises, and other actions, including the failure to honor contracts and commitments, by the (i) California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC), U.S. Department of Energy, U.S. Internal Revenue Service and other regulatory bodies and (ii) U.S. and states, counties, cities and other jurisdictions therein where we do business; the success of business development efforts and construction projects, including risks related to (i) completing construction projects or other transactions on schedule and budget, (ii) realizing anticipated benefits from any of these efforts if completed, (iii) obtaining third-party consents and approvals and (iv) third parties honoring their contracts and commitments; changes to our capital expenditure plans and their potential impact on rate base or other growth; litigation, arbitration and other proceedings, and changes (i) to laws and regulations, including those related to tax, (ii) due to the results of elections, and (iii) in trade and other foreign policy, including the imposition of tariffs by the U.S. and foreign countries; cybersecurity threats, including by state and state-sponsored actors, of ransomware or other attacks on our systems or the systems of third parties with which we conduct business, including the energy grid or other energy infrastructure; the availability, uses, sufficiency, and cost of capital resources and our ability to borrow money or otherwise raise capital on favorable terms and meet our obligations, which can be affected by, among other things, (i) actions by credit rating agencies to downgrade our credit ratings or place those ratings on negative outlook, (ii) instability in the capital markets, and (iii) fluctuating interest rates and inflation; the impact on affordability of our customer rates and our cost of capital and on our ability to pass through higher costs to customers due to (i) volatility in inflation, interest rates and commodity prices and (ii) the cost of meeting the demand for lower carbon and reliable energy in California; the impact of climate policies, laws, rules, regulations, trends and required disclosures, including actions to reduce or eliminate reliance on natural gas, increased uncertainty in the political or regulatory environment for California natural gas distribution companies, the risk of nonrecovery for stranded assets, and uncertainty related to emerging technologies; weather, natural disasters, pandemics, accidents, equipment failures, explosions, terrorism, information system outages or other events, such as work stoppages, that disrupt our operations, damage our facilities or systems, cause the release of harmful materials or fires or subject us to liability for damages, fines and penalties, some of which may not be recoverable through regulatory mechanisms or insurance 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 failures in the pipeline and storage systems or limitations on the injection and withdrawal of natural gas from storage facilities; and other uncertainties, some of which are difficult to predict and 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.

Sempra Infrastructure, Sempra Infrastructure Partners, Sempra Texas, Sempra Texas Utilities, Oncor Electric Delivery Company LLC (Oncor) and Infraestructura Energética Nova, S.A.P.I. de C.V. (IEnova) are not the same companies as the California utilities, San Diego Gas & Electric Company or Southern California Gas Company, and Sempra Infrastructure, Sempra Infrastructure Partners, Sempra Texas, Sempra Texas Utilities, Oncor and IEnova are not regulated by the CPUC.