On May 16, 2022 Southern California Gas Co. (SoCalGas®) filed its 2024 General Rate Case request with the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC). The request is a detailed projection of what it will cost to safely, reliably, and sustainably deliver energy to the company’s over 21 million consumers from 2024 to 2027.
View documents related to our rate request proceeding.
2024 Rate Request
At SoCalGas, we’re committed to efficiently serving our customers’ needs while also providing investments to allow our infrastructure to carry cleaner fuels and help us meet California's climate goals.
Today, more than 90 percent of households in Southern California rely on natural gas for heating their homes and hot water. About 60 percent of the electricity in California is generated using natural gas. Natural gas supports renewable sources of energy, like solar and wind, and serves as a critical safety net that supports the electric grid when the sun doesn’t shine, and the wind doesn’t blow.
Our rate request will allow us to modernize and upgrade our infrastructure so that we can maintain and enhance long-term reliability and safety for our customers; support the growth of more diverse renewable energy options, and retain and reward the most talented energy professionals, so they can continue delivering the safe, clean, and reliable energy and superior customer service our customers deserve.
In submitting a rate request, we hold ourselves accountable to our customers first and foremost. That means listening to – and learning from – our customers about their needs and concerns. We will be collaborating with various stakeholders in a rigorous review of the request through a proceeding before the CPUC. We are proactively finding new ways to make bills as affordable as possible for every Southern California family we serve.
How the New Proposed Investments and Rates Would Affect Your Bill
If SoCalGas’s rate request is approved in its entirety by the CPUC, the average residential monthly bill using 36 therms per month would increase by approximately $8.62 per month in 2024, when compared to estimated 2023. Individual customer bills may vary.
As a regulated utility, SoCalGas does not make a profit from customers’ consumption of natural gas. We work to achieve the best natural gas price possible for our customers, and to help customers conserve energy.
How the Rate Request and New Investments Benefit You
1. Enhanced reliability and safety of natural gas service for years to come.
The rate request will allow SoCalGas to:
- Upgrade pipelines, compressor stations, and other infrastructure;
- Modernize pipeline and storage-monitoring technology;
- Digitize the gas systems with the integration of data from over 9,800 new and existing field assets by the end of 2028, and enhance SoCalGas’s comprehensive view of the gas network; and
- Provide a comprehensive, systematic, and integrated approach for managing and enhancing the safety and integrity of facilities and associated equipment.
2. Transitioning to a clean energy future.
SoCalGas’s rate request presents many activities aimed at systemwide decarbonization over the long term. SoCalGas is developing hydrogen pilot projects to support multiple end-use applications, including industrial users, transportation, thermal generation, building decarbonization, and distributed energy resources. SoCalGas is also researching the viability of blending hydrogen into natural gas pipelines.
3. Modern Customer Information System.
SoCalGas is requesting to replace its Customer Information System to enable the implementation of increasingly complex California regulatory requirements and keep pace with the rapidly changing energy industry and evolving service demands of our customers. A new, modernized CIS will elevate the service and support customers receive.
4. Enhanced digitization and protection of your personal data.
Keeping your information safe from cyber-attacks through improved internet security technology is crucial in the digital age. We’re increasing cybersecurity investments to protect infrastructure, secure customer data, and meet growing privacy regulations. Providing technology solutions that meet the fast-paced energy transition and customer expectations through innovation and modern practices.
5. Qualified, diverse workforce.
Skilled employees are essential to providing safe and reliable service to customers and for helping the Company meet sustainability goals. To engage and foster the talent of all our employees, and to attract new employees, SoCalGas must continue to invest in employee development programs and policies. As an example, SoCalGas is developing a computer-based training environment to include virtual reality training for difficult to replicate real-life scenarios and conducting training to qualify impacted employees.
What We’re Doing to Keep Natural Gas Affordable
Every Californian deserves a reasonable, transparent, and affordable price for the natural gas they use. That’s why we’re always proactively working to find ways to make energy bills as affordable as possible for our customers. We offer energy efficiency and assistance programs to help customers save energy and money. Since 1990, our energy efficiency and rebate programs have helped families and businesses save millions off their natural gas bills.
We will continue to keep our natural gas delivery system safe and reliable, while keeping prices as affordable as possible, by investing wisely in this important energy infrastructure.