LOS ANGELES, March 17, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- With thousands of its customers working or doing schoolwork from home due to Coronavirus precautions, Southern California Gas Co. (SoCalGas) today offered tips for staying safe and keeping utility bills low while still keeping comfortably warm during this late-winter cold snap.

SoCalGas offers customers the following tips to regulate their natural gas usage and keep energy costs low during this time:

Home Heating:

• Remember that lowering your furnace thermostat by three to five degrees, health permitting, can save up to 10 percent on heating costs.
• Set your thermostat to 68 degrees or lower and dress in layers. If you do go out, take the opportunity to set your thermostat even lower.
• Keep blinds open to let in natural light which can serve as a supplement to your home heating system.
• For safety and efficiency keep all heating vents and furnace registers free of dirt lint and obstructions.

Laundry:

• Launder items as appropriate in accordance with the manufacturer's instructions. If possible, launder items using the warmest appropriate water setting for the items and dry items completely, per Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommendation.
• Dry full loads, but don't overload or over dry. Separate lightweight and heavy clothes for more energy-efficient drying.
• Dry two or more loads in a row to take advantage of the heat still in the dryer.

Water Heating:

• Turn down the temperature on your water heater.
• Take shorter showers to reduce your natural gas use.

Cooking:

• Don't open the oven door while food is cooking. You can lose up to 50 degrees in temperature and waste energy.
• Cover pots when cooking and cook by time and temperature guides.
• Cook several meals at the same time.
• Never use the natural gas range for room heating. It is not designed for this purpose and can create a hazardous situation.

Staying Safe

The health, safety and wellness of its customers and employees is foundational to SoCalGas, and staying safe is more important than ever during the Coronavirus pandemic. SoCalGas technicians remain available to respond promptly to customers if they smell natural gas or think they might have a leak. As always, customers should call 800-427-2200 in the event they suspect a gas leak. SoCalGas customer service representatives will be asking customers a few health-based questions before SoCalGas technicians enter the home. Technicians will take precautionary measures such as wearing eye protection and gloves in homes to protect our employees and limit any potential spread of the virus.

More energy saving and safety tips can be found at socalgas.com as well as additional information about SoCalGas' response to COVID-19. Customers can call 800-427-2200 for any questions related to their natural gas bills.

About SoCalGas

Headquartered in Los Angeles, SoCalGas® is the largest gas distribution utility in the United States. SoCalGas delivers affordable, reliable, clean and increasingly renewable gas service to 21.8 million customers across 24,000 square miles of Central and Southern California, where more than 90 percent of residents use natural gas for heating, hot water, cooking, drying clothes or other uses. Gas delivered through the company's pipelines also plays a key role in providing electricity to Californians— about 45 percent of electric power generated in the state comes from gas-fired power plants.

SoCalGas' vision is to be the cleanest gas utility in North America, delivering affordable and increasingly renewable energy to its customers. In support of that vision, SoCalGas is committed to replacing 20 percent of its traditional natural gas supply with renewable natural gas (RNG) by 2030. Renewable natural gas is made from waste created by dairy farms, landfills and wastewater treatment plants. SoCalGas is also committed to investing in its gas delivery infrastructure while keeping bills affordable for our customers. From 2014 through 2018, the company invested nearly $6.5 billion to upgrade and modernize its pipeline system to enhance safety and reliability. SoCalGas is a subsidiary of Sempra Energy (NYSE: SRE), an energy services holding company based in San Diego. For more information visit socalgas.com/newsroom or connect with SoCalGas on Twitter (@SoCalGas), Instagram (@SoCalGas) and Facebook.  

SOURCE Southern California Gas Company