In a continued effort to advance diversity, equity, and inclusion in the communities SoCalGas serves, the SoCalGas Scholarship Program has awarded more than $3.5 million over the last 22 years to students with an interest in eligible majors such as Science, Technology, Engineering, Math, Finance, Accounting, Business Administration, Plumbing, Electrical HVAC, or Welding.
LOS ANGELES, July 27, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Southern California Gas Company (SoCalGas) announced today that 29 students in Central and Southern California will receive over $300,000 from the SoCalGas Scholarship Program to pursue higher education at four-year universities, community colleges, and trade schools. This year, 16 students attending four-year universities received $5,000 each and can renew their scholarship to receive a total of $20,000 over the course of four years of study. Thirteen students with plans to attend community colleges and trade schools have received $1,000 each toward eligible programs. Another $75,000 was also renewed to 15 scholarship recipients from 2022. Since the program's inception in 2001, SoCalGas has awarded over $3.5 million in scholarships to 2,326 students.
"Creating a diverse workforce starts with investing in a diverse pipeline of interns and entry level applicants, and in many cases that can begin and end with access to higher education." says Andy Carrasco, Vice President of Communications, Local Government, and Community Affairs for SoCalGas. "With 80% of this year's scholarship recipients identifying as Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC), SoCalGas aims to remove the traditional barriers of higher education that can prevent students the opportunity to explore their interests in their respective fields of study."
The SoCalGas Scholarship Program evaluates students based on their academic achievements, community involvement, financial need, and personal statements discussing sustainable energy in California. In partnership with Scholarship America®, the program is designed to provide direct financial assistance to students in the fields of Science, Technology, Engineering, Math, Finance, Accounting, Business Administration, Plumbing, Electrical HVAC, or Welding across central and southern California.
"We applaud the Southern California Gas Company for their unwavering commitment to supporting education and fostering a diverse workforce through their SoCalGas Scholarship Program. By investing in the future of our students, especially those from BIPOC and minority backgrounds, SoCalGas is not only empowering individuals to pursue their passions but also contributing to the growth and prosperity of our community as a whole," says Acquanetta Warren, mayor of Fontana. "We extend our heartfelt gratitude to SoCalGas for their invaluable contributions to shaping a brighter and more inclusive future for Southern California."
In June, SoCalGas brought this year's scholarship recipients together for a recognition event where the students learned about SoCalGas' mission, internships, and entry level positions. The students also had the opportunity to network with employees that currently work in their planned field of study.
"The SoCalGas Scholarship Program has empowered me to establish my future career as a woman in STEM," said Nicole Lee from Los Angeles. "This scholarship gives me the freedom to study electrical engineering and computer science at Berkeley while providing me with amazing career development resources."
"I'm so grateful to be able to attend Riverside City College to study cyber defense thanks in part to the scholarship from SoCalGas," said Henry Yu from San Bernardino. "This program will also give me unique career opportunities to pursue an internship with SoCalGas' IT program."
Under the ASPIRE 2045 Sustainability Strategy, SoCalGas plans to invest $50 million into communities the company serves over five years, working to advance racial and gender diversity in the workplace, and take tangible steps towards a carbon neutral future. By providing resources for higher education and career development, SoCalGas aspires to empower the communities it serves and help prepare young leaders for success.
About SoCalGas
Headquartered in Los Angeles, SoCalGas® is the largest gas distribution utility in the United States. SoCalGas delivers affordable, reliable, and increasingly renewable gas service to over 21 million consumers across 24,000 square miles of Central and Southern California. Gas delivered through the company's pipelines will continue to play a key role in California's clean energy transition—providing electric grid reliability and supporting wind and solar energy deployment.
SoCalGas' mission is to build the cleanest, safest and most innovative energy infrastructure company in America. In support of that mission, SoCalGas aspires to achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emissions in its operations and delivery of energy by 2045 and to replacing 20 percent of its traditional natural gas supply to core customers with renewable natural gas (RNG) by 2030. Renewable natural gas is made from waste created by landfills and wastewater treatment plants. SoCalGas is also committed to investing in its gas delivery infrastructure while keeping bills affordable for customers. SoCalGas is a subsidiary of Sempra (NYSE: SRE), an energy infrastructure company based in San Diego.
For more information visit socalgas.com/newsroom or connect with SoCalGas on Twitter (@SoCalGas), Instagram (@SoCalGas) and Facebook.
This press release contains statements that constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements are based on assumptions with respect to 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 "believes," "expects," "intends," "anticipates," "contemplates," "plans," "estimates," "projects," "forecasts," "should," "could," "would," "will," "confident," "may," "can," "potential," "possible," "proposed," "in process," "construct," "develop," "opportunity," "initiative," "target," "outlook," "optimistic," "poised," "maintain," "continue," "progress," "advance," "goal," "aim," "commit," or similar expressions, or when we discuss our guidance, priorities, strategy, goals, vision, mission, opportunities, 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 risks and uncertainties relating to: decisions, investigations, inquiries, regulations, issuances or revocations of permits, consents, approvals or other authorizations, renewals of franchises, and other actions by (i) the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC), U.S. Department of Energy, and other governmental and regulatory bodies and (ii) the U.S. and states, counties, cities and other jurisdictions therein in which we do business; the success of business development efforts and construction projects, including risks in (i) completing construction projects or other transactions on schedule and budget, (ii) realizing anticipated benefits from any of these efforts if completed, and (iii) obtaining the consent or approval of third parties; litigation, arbitrations and other proceedings, and changes to laws and regulations; 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, all of which have become more pronounced due to recent geopolitical events; our ability to borrow money on favorable terms and meet our obligations, including due to (i) actions by credit rating agencies to downgrade our credit ratings or place those ratings on negative outlook or (ii) rising interest rates and inflation; failure of our counterparties to honor their contracts and commitments; 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 the clean energy transition in California; the impact of climate and sustainability policies, laws, rules, regulations, disclosures and trends, 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 our ability to incorporate new technologies; weather, natural disasters, pandemics, accidents, equipment failures, explosions, terrorism, information system outages or other events 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 system or limitations on the withdrawal of natural gas from storage facilities; changes in tax and trade policies, laws and regulations, including tariffs, revisions to international trade agreements and sanctions, such as those imposed in connection with the war in Ukraine, any of which may increase our costs, reduce our competitiveness, impact our ability to do business with certain counterparties, or impair our ability to resolve trade disputes; 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 Mexico, Sempra Texas Utilities, Oncor and IEnova are not regulated by the CPUC.
SOURCE Southern California Gas Company