OXNARD, May 6, 2018—Yesterday, fifty Southern California Gas Company (SoCalGas) employee volunteers worked toward finishing six homes at a Habitat for Humanity of Ventura County (Habitat) build site in Oxnard. Habitat is nearing the completion of a six-home development in the city’s La Colonia neighborhood after almost one year of construction. SoCalGas employees were the first group to work at this site and returned to help add final touches to the houses. The company also donated $5,000 to Habitat’s Corporate Team Build Program. Photos of the build event are available here.

“SoCalGas is proud to support Habitat’s mission to help families build strength, stability, and self-reliance through shelter,” said Jimmie Cho, senior vice president of customer services and distribution operations at SoCalGas. “We know how critical affordable housing is to breaking the cycle of poverty, and as a provider of natural gas, our goal is to deliver affordable, reliable, and clean energy options.”

“We were thrilled to host SoCalGas volunteers as we continue construction of our six-home First & Hayes Development in La Colonia,” said Jill Shaffer, director of resource development for Habitat Ventura County. “We have hosted multiple groups throughout the year with our Corporate Team Build program, which empowers and inspires participants as they work alongside Habitat volunteers and future homeowner families building their own homes.”

“I am very happy to support Habitat for Humanity of Ventura County homeowners; these homeowners are given the great opportunity and pride of having sweat equity ownership of their homes,” said Ventura County Supervisor John C. Zaragoza. “I would like to thank Habitat for Humanity for giving our community hope and SoCalGas employees for volunteering with the six-home development.”

Natural gas is the most affordable and reliable option for home and water heating and cooking in Southern California and is used by more than 90 percent of residents in the region. According to the American Gas Association, 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.

Moreover, thanks to energy efficiency measures and new technology, residential water and space heating account for only about 4 percent of greenhouse gas emissions statewide, according to the California Air Resources Board.

SoCalGas is a leader in developing and investing in technologies that reduce air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions while keeping bills affordable for customers. Since 1990, the company’s energy efficiency and rebate programs have reduced emissions equal to taking almost 700,000 cars off the road, and over the last five years, its energy efficiency and rebate programs have helped customers save $161 million on their utility bills.

SoCalGas invested more than $10 million, through financial and in-kind donations, to nearly 1,000 educational, environmental, and community organizations across its service territory in 2017. Learn more about the company’s giving here.  

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. 

About Habitat for Humanity of Ventura County 
Building strength, stability and self-reliance through shelter.

Habitat for Humanity of Ventura County is a locally-run and locally-funded affiliate of Habitat for Humanity International. Over the past 33 years, 64 new home builds have provided homeownership opportunities for families in need and hundreds of homes have been repaired, providing a safe, decent living environment for low income homeowners.  Habitat Home Repair program partners with low-income homeowners to improve their living conditions through home repairs. At Habitat for Humanity, we believe that everyone, everywhere deserves a decent place to live. For Habitat’s new home program, low income families are selected based on their need for housing, ability to repay an affordable mortgage, and willingness to partner with Habitat for Humanity. We offer a “hand up,” empowering families who are willing to work hard to achieve their dream of homeownership. Each Habitat for Humanity homeowner invests hundreds of hours to help build their home, and then purchases it with an affordable mortgage. Habitat currently has enough donated properties to build 30 decent homes for families in Ventura County. For more information about Habitat for Humanity of Ventura County, visit http://www.habitatventura.org or call (805) 485-6065, x 101.

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