LOS ANGELES, April 15, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Southern California Gas Co. (SoCalGas) today announced it will begin transitioning residents who chose to remain in the temporary housing program to temporary residences that feature larger living, dining and sleeping spaces, full kitchens and secure parking. In accordance with the terms of our temporary housing plan, temporary residence apartments come ready for immediate move-in, with furnishings, linens, toiletries, and high speed internet. The move to more stable temporary residences will also help minimize the repeated moves and confusion that some have unfortunately experienced in recent months.
Current temporary housing assignments were initially designed to be short-term. SoCalGas' original agreement with the Los Angeles City Attorney, and approved by the courts, called for the relocation program to end 48 hours after the gas leak at the Aliso Canyon storage facility was stopped. SoCalGas agreed to provide residents with more time, extending the relocation period to 8 days and 7 nights after the Division of Oil, Gas and Geothermal Resources confirmed the leak was permanently sealed on February 18, 2016.
Repeated actions by Los Angeles County to extend the temporary housing program have introduced significant new uncertainty and instability for residents staying in hotels. To address the longer-term nature of the relocation, SoCalGas has secured and will directly pay for high quality apartment-style residences that have many of the same amenities as a home and long-term leases that help avoid repeated moves between hotels.
SoCalGas will begin transitioning residents currently staying in hotels between now and April 22, 2016. The first group eligible for this new relocation option will be those served by our largest temporary housing provider.
To continue in the temporary housing program, residents will be provided with a form to select a housing option. These residents must respond with their selection no later than Monday, April 18, 2016 at 12:00 PM.
The units are available for move-in starting immediately and residents must be moved by April 22, 2016. SoCalGas will reimburse eligible hotel and meal expenses for these residents through regular check-out time on Friday, April 22. Accommodations for those residents will not be extended past check-out time on Friday, April 22, and SoCalGas will no longer reimburse for lodging beyond that point unless residents enroll in one of the housing options provided on the form.
In addition, because SoCalGas is now able to provide more stable and roomier housing where residents can prepare regular meals, reimbursements associated with hotel stays, including daily meal allowances, will be discontinued once residents have moved into a temporary residence.
All other residents enrolled in the temporary housing program will be promptly notified when new temporary residences are available for their housing group. In the meantime, SoCalGas will extend reservations and current meal allowances at their current locations through Monday, May 2, 2016.
About Southern California Gas Co: Southern California Gas Co. (SoCalGas) has been delivering clean, safe and reliable natural gas to its customers for more than 145 years. It is the nation's largest natural gas distribution utility, providing service to 21.6 million consumers connected through 5.9 million meters in more than 500 communities. The company's service territory encompasses approximately 20,000 square miles throughout central and Southern California, from Visalia to the Mexican border. SoCalGas is a regulated subsidiary of Sempra Energy (NYSE: SRE), a Fortune 500 energy services holding company based in San Diego.
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. These statements can be identified by words like "believes," "expects," "anticipates," "plans," "estimates," "projects," "forecasts," "contemplates," "intends," "assumes," "depends," "should," "could," "would," "will," "confident," "may," "potential," "possible," "proposed," "target," "pursue," "goals," "outlook," "maintain" or similar expressions, or discussions of guidance, strategies, plans, goals, opportunities, projections, initiatives, objectives or intentions. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of performance. They involve risks, uncertainties and assumptions. Future results may differ materially from those expressed in the forward-looking statements.
Forward-looking statements are necessarily based upon various assumptions involving judgments with respect to the future and other risks, including, among others: local, regional, and national economic, competitive, political, legislative, legal, and regulatory conditions, decisions, and developments; actions and the timing of actions, including general rate case decisions, new regulations, issuances of permits to construct, operate and maintain facilities and equipment and to use land, franchise agreements, and licenses for operation, by the California Public Utilities Commission, California State Legislature, U.S. Department of Energy, California Division of Oil, Gas and Geothermal Resources, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, California Energy Commission, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, California Air Resources Board, South Coast Air Quality Management District, cities and counties, and other regulatory, governmental and environmental bodies in the United States; the timing and success of business development efforts and construction, maintenance and capital projects, including risks in obtaining, maintaining or extending permits, licenses, certificates and other authorizations on a timely basis and risks in obtaining adequate and competitive financing for such projects; deviations from regulatory precedent or practice that result in a reallocation of benefits or burdens among shareholders and ratepayers and delays in regulatory agency authorization to recover costs in rates from customers; the availability of electric power and natural gas, and natural gas pipeline and storage capacity, including disruptions caused by failures in the North American transmission grid, moratoriums on the ability to withdraw natural gas from or inject natural gas into storage facilities, pipeline explosions and equipment failures; energy markets; the timing and extent of changes and volatility in commodity price; the impact on the value of our natural gas storage assets from low natural gas prices, low volatility of natural gas prices and the inability to procure favorable long-term contracts for natural gas storage services; the resolution of civil and criminal litigation and regulatory investigations; risks that our partners or counterparties will be unable or unwilling to fulfill their contractual commitments; capital markets conditions, including the availability of credit and the liquidity of our investments, and inflation and interest rates; cybersecurity threats to the energy grid, natural gas 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; terrorist attacks that threaten system operations and critical infrastructure; wars; weather conditions, natural disasters, catastrophic accidents, equipment failures and other events that may disrupt our operations, damage our facilities and systems, cause the release of greenhouse gasses and harmful emissions, and subject us to third-party liability for property damage or personal injuries some of which may not be covered by insurance; the inability or determination not to enter into long-term supply and sales agreements or long-term firm capacity agreements due to insufficient market interest, unattractive pricing or other factors; and other uncertainties, all of which are difficult to predict and many of which are beyond our control.
These risks and uncertainties are further discussed in the reports that the company has filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. These reports are available through the EDGAR system free-of-charge on the SEC's website, www.sec.gov. Investors should not rely unduly on any forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements speak only as of the date hereof, and the company undertakes no obligation to update or revise these forecasts or projections or other forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
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SOURCE Southern California Gas Co.