SAN DIEGO, Nov. 14, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- The board of directors of Sempra Energy (NYSE: SRE) today announced that CEO Debra L. Reed has been elected chairman of the company.

Effective Dec. 1, Reed will succeed Donald E. Felsinger, 65, who is retiring at the end of this month after a 40-year career with the company.  Reed was named Sempra Energy's CEO in June of last year.

"In her year-and-a-half as CEO, Debbie Reed has helped Sempra Energy become a top performer in our industry," Felsinger said. "She has sharpened our strategic focus and continued to build value for our shareholders. Our board and I believe that Debbie will be most effective in serving our shareholders and customers in the dual role of chairman and CEO."

Reed, 56, has worked for the Sempra Energy companies for 34 years. Prior to her appointment as CEO last year, she was executive vice president of Sempra Energy. Previously, from 2006 to 2010, she served as president and CEO of Sempra Energy's two largest subsidiaries, San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E) and Southern California Gas Co. (SoCalGas). She also was chief operating officer of the two utilities, after initially being appointed president of SDG&E in 2000.

Reed first joined the company in 1978 as an energy systems engineer at SoCalGas.  In 1988, she became the first female officer appointed at SoCalGas.

In 2011 and 2012, Reed was recognized as one of Fortune magazine's "50 Most Powerful Women in Business." She also was recognized by Forbes magazine as one of the nation's most influential female CEOs.

Reed serves on the board and is the immediate past chair of the San Diego Regional Economic Development Corporation. She also is on the board of directors of Halliburton Co. and the board of councilors of the University of Southern California Viterbi School of Engineering. Reed is a member of The Trusteeship, an affiliate of the International Women's Forum. Previously, she served on the boards of directors of Genentech, Dominguez Services Corp. and Avery Dennison Corp.

Reed graduated summa cum laude from the University of Southern California with a bachelor's degree in civil engineering.

Felsinger has been Sempra Energy's executive chairman since June of last year.  Previously, from 2006 to 2011, he served as chairman and CEO of Sempra Energy and, prior to that, as the company's president and chief operating officer.

Beginning in 1998, Felsinger led Sempra Energy's expansion into competitive energy markets, helping to build successful businesses in energy-infrastructure development, power generation, commodities trading and liquefied natural gas. 

Felsinger first joined the company in 1972 as an electrical engineer at SDG&E and rose to become SDG&E's president and CEO in 1996.

Felsinger is a graduate of the Stanford University executive program and also has a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Arizona.

Sempra Energy, based in San Diego, is a Fortune 500 energy services holding company with 2011 revenues of $10 billion.  The Sempra Energy companies' 17,500 employees serve more than 31 million consumers worldwide.

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," "intends," "plans," "estimates," "may," "will," "would," "could," "should," "potential," "target," "outlook," "depends," "pursue" or similar expressions, or discussions of guidance, strategies, plans, goals, 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, national and international economic, competitive, political, legislative and regulatory conditions and developments; actions and the timing of actions by the California Public Utilities Commission, California State Legislature, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, U.S. Department of Energy, Nuclear Regulatory Commission, California Energy Commission, California Air Resources Board, and other regulatory, governmental and environmental bodies in the United States and other countries where the company does business; capital market conditions, including the availability of credit and the liquidity of investments; inflation, interest and exchange rates; the impact of benchmark interest rates, generally the U.S. Treasury bond and Moody's A-rated utility bond yields, on the California utilities' cost of capital; the timing and success of business development efforts and construction, maintenance and capital projects, including risks inherent in the ability to obtain, and the timing of the granting of, permits, licenses, certificates and other authorizations; energy markets, including the timing and extent of changes and volatility in commodity prices; the availability of electric power, natural gas and liquefied natural gas, including disruptions caused by failures in the North American transmission grid, pipeline explosions and equipment failures; weather conditions, natural disasters, catastrophic accidents, and conservation efforts; risks inherent in nuclear power generation and radioactive materials storage, including catastrophic release of such materials, the disallowance of the recovery of the investment in, or operating costs of, the generation facility due to an extended outage, and increased regulatory oversight; risks posed by decisions and actions of third parties who control the operations of investments in which the company does not have a controlling interest; wars, terrorist attacks and cyber security threats; business, regulatory, environmental and legal decisions and requirements; expropriation of assets by foreign governments and title and other property disputes; the status of deregulation of retail natural gas and electricity delivery; the inability or determination not to enter into long-term supply and sales agreements or long-term firm capacity agreements; the resolution of litigation; and other uncertainties, all of which are difficult to predict and many of which are beyond the control of the company.  These risks and uncertainties are further discussed in the reports that Sempra Energy 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, and on the company's website at www.sempra.com.

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.

Sempra International, LLC, and Sempra U.S. Gas & Power, LLC, are not the same companies as San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E) or Southern California Gas Company (SoCalGas) and Sempra International, LLC and Sempra U.S. Gas & Power, LLC are not regulated by the California Public Utilities Commission. Sempra International's underlying entities include Sempra Mexico and Sempra South American Utilities. Sempra U.S. Gas & Power's underlying entities include Sempra Renewables and Sempra Natural Gas.

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SOURCE Sempra Energy