LOS ANGELES, April 9, 2018—Southern California Gas Co. (SoCalGas) today announced the official groundbreaking on construction of its new regional base on McMurtrey Ave. near the connection of Highways 99 and 65 in Bakersfield.  The new facility will include a 31,370 square-foot main building with conference space, plus a separate storage building, garage, photovoltaic solar energy system, and compressed natural gas (CNG) station for company and public use.  Photos of the groundbreaking event are available via this link.

“This new facility will allow us to bring together all of our Bakersfield base employees in one convenient location between Highway 99 and Highway 65 that will allow our field technicians to better serve our Kern County customers,” said Paul Goldstein, SoCalGas vice president of customer services. “In addition, now we will have a regional facility available for employee training.”

“This building will include a photovoltaic solar energy system and is designed to be net-zero energy, meaning the total energy used by the building will be roughly equal to the amount of renewable energy created on the site,” said Gina Orozco-Mejia, SoCalGas vice president of gas distribution.  “In addition, it will have a Customer Demonstration Center so we can display the many emerging gas technologies created with support from SoCalGas that deliver meaningful greenhouse gas emissions reductions.”

“We’re very pleased to have SoCalGas service technicians in this new location to serve the more than 100,000 Kern County homes and businesses that rely on affordable natural gas,” said Bakersfield Mayor Karen Goh.

“I’m thrilled that this facility will offer a natural gas fueling station for trucks traveling Highways 99 and 65,” said Kern County Supervisor David Couch (District 4). “The transportation sector is responsible for about 40 percent of California's greenhouse gas emissions and more than 80 percent of the state's smog-forming emissions, so it’s crucial to have resources like this for clean natural gas and renewable natural gas heavy duty trucks that can improve air quality and the health of people in Kern County.”  

SoCalGas employees housed at the new facility will serve more than 100,000 homes and businesses across a region of more than 7,500 square miles, and maintain more than 1,700 miles of natural gas pipeline.  Construction is scheduled to be complete in early-to-mid-2019.

SoCalGas has long been a leader in developing appliances and programs that deliver meaningful greenhouse gas emissions reductions. Since 1990, the company’s energy efficiency programs have reduced emissions equal to taking 700,000 cars off the road, and have enabled the gas sector to already meet 2020 greenhouse gas reductions required under existing climate change regulations.

In Central and Southern California, natural gas is the most affordable and reliable option for home and water heating and for cooking. More than 90 percent of residents use natural gas to heat their home and hot water. According to the American Gas Association (AGA), households that use natural gas for water and space heating, cooking and clothes drying save an average of $874 per year compared to homes using electricity for those applications.

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About SoCalGas

Headquartered in Los Angeles, SoCalGas® is the largest natural gas distribution utility in the United States, providing clean, safe, affordable and reliable natural gas service to 21.7 million customers in Central and Southern California. Its service territory spans 22,000 square miles from Fresno to the Mexican border, reaching more than 550 communities through 5.9 million meters and 101,000 miles of pipeline. More than 90 percent of Southern California single-family home residents use natural gas for home heat and hot water. In addition, natural gas plays a key role in providing electricity to Californians—about 60 percent of electric power generated in the state comes from gas-fired power plants.  

SoCalGas has served communities in California for 150 years and is committed to being a leader in the region’s clean energy future. The company is working to accelerate the use of renewable natural gas, a carbon-neutral or carbon-negative fuel created by capturing and conditioning greenhouse gas emissions from farms, landfills and wastewater treatment plants. SoCalGas is a subsidiary of Sempra Energy (NYSE: SRE), a Fortune 500 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.