SAN DIEGO, Jan. 3, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- The New Year brings new leadership to San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E) as Scott D. Drury becomes president of the energy company. Drury succeeds Jeff Martin, who has become executive vice president and chief financial officer at Sempra Energy (NYSE: SRE), the parent company of SDG&E. Drury's and Martin's new assignments were announced last September as part of Sempra Energy's ongoing leadership development and succession planning process.

As he steps into the role of President, Drury is focused on advancing SDG&E's efforts in clean, safe and reliable energy.

"It's an exciting time to be in the energy business," said Drury. "At SDG&E, we're inspired by the opportunity to improve the lives of our customers, and the communities where we live and work, by building the cleanest, safest, most reliable energy company in America."

Drury enters the role at a time when SDG&E is emerging as a leader in the race to create the utility of the future. In the last year, the energy company:

• Exceeded California's aggressive renewable portfolio standards of 33 percent by 2020. In the last twelve months, customers have benefited from the carbon reductions that come with receiving more than 40 percent of their energy from renewable sources;
• Received approval and began construction of the largest battery-based energy storage project in America. The project is expected to be complete in the next month; and,
• Is driving the adoption of clean-air vehicles by addressing one of the biggest barriers to purchasing an electric vehicle – accessible charging stations. SDG&E is working to build 3,500 electric vehicle charging stations with the goal of improving air quality through San Diego and South Orange counties as the clean vehicle capital of the world.

Also during this time, SDG&E was named the most reliable electric utility in the western United States for the 11th straight year by PA Consulting Group and the company has received the approval on a number of projects that modernize the electric and natural gas infrastructure serving SDG&E's customers.

Drury has held various leadership roles within the company, most recently, he served as the company's chief energy supply officer, overseeing all aspects of acquiring energy and capacity, electric transmission and substation operations, enterprise engineering, strategic planning, and generation and resource planning. He has held positions in human resources, diversity and inclusion, construction operations, safety, supply management and other areas.

SDG&E is an innovative San Diego-based energy company that provides safe, reliable, clean energy to better the lives of the people it serves in San Diego and Southern Orange Counties. More than 4,300 employees work to provide the most reliable and clean energy in the West. The company has been recognized by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for leadership in addressing climate change, was the first to meet California's goal of delivering 33 percent of energy from renewable sources, has fueled the adoption of electric vehicles and energy efficiency through unique customer programs, and supports more than 600 non-profit partners. SDG&E is a subsidiary of Sempra Energy (NYSE: SRE), a Fortune 500 energy services holding company based in San Diego. For more information, visit sdge.com/newsroom or connect with SDG&E on Twitter (@SDGE), Instagram (@SDGE) and Facebook.

SOURCE San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E)