LOS ANGELES, May 29, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Southern California Gas Co. (SoCalGas), the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California (MWD) and Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP) awarded the Los Angeles Unified School District (Los Angeles Unified) close to $600,000 in energy and water efficiency program rebates. Los Angeles Unified received $482,500 through SoCalGas' "Energy Efficiency Rebates for Business" program and $96,000 in rebates from MWD and LADWP through the "SoCalWater$mart" program. The rebates stemmed from the purchase of nearly 200 new high-efficiency natural gas pressure-less steamers placed in the kitchens at more than 90 Los Angeles Unified schools. Representatives from SoCalGas, MWD and LADWP presented the rebate checks at the May 28 Board of Education Committee of the Whole meeting. Photos from the check presentation may be viewed here.
The new equipment will be used to prepare lunches for more than 120,000 Los Angeles Unified students. The steamers replaced 15 to 20-year-old units that were much less energy and water efficient than the new models. In addition to the cost-savings on the purchase of the equipment, Los Angeles Unified will save more than 285,000 therms of natural gas and about 163 million gallons of water over its lifetime.
"We are always on the lookout for ways to help our customers save money and energy and reduce emissions to help fight climate change," said Dan Rendler, director of customer programs at SoCalGas. "We are pleased to provide these rebates to Los Angeles Unified, which are a great example of how we work collaboratively with other agencies to seek out and deliver valuable cost-savings to our customers."
"Metropolitan has made it a priority to improve water efficiency wherever we can – in homes, in businesses and in schools. But implementing improvements like this take willing partners, and we're grateful to Los Angeles Unified and SoCalGas for making the effort to conserve water," said MWD water efficiency manager Bill McDonnell. "Climate change and a growing population mean we all have to do our part to use our limited water resources wisely."
"LADWP is excited to be a part of Los Angeles Unified's push to increase efficiency in their food preparation process. This is another example of our successful joint endeavor to bring water and energy efficiency benefits to our local schools," said Sharon Grove, LADWP Assistant General Manager of the Customer Service Division. "Together with our partner agencies, LADWP is helping our customers save water, energy and money by offering a variety of rebate and custom incentive programs."
"Los Angeles Unified is very excited about enhancing our food menu to provide our students with more variety and options," said Director of Food Services Manish Singh. "The steamers will provide us with the capability to add steamed vegetables, pot stickers and dumplings to our menu selection, which will benefit over 120,000 students at more than 90 school sites. Los Angeles Unified will continue to add steamers at more schools."
SoCalGas is a leader in the research and development of new technologies that increase energy efficiency, reduce air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions and keep bills affordable for customers. Last year, SoCalGas awarded more than $5.7 million in rebates to residential customers and more than $7.2 million in rebates to business customers. In the last five years alone, SoCalGas energy efficiency programs have saved more than 146 million therms, enough to power 326,000 households a year. These programs also generated nearly $862 million in avoided energy costs, including $161 million in annual customer bill savings during that same 5-year period. Energy efficiency is a part of SoCalGas' vision to be the cleanest natural gas utility in North America.
Metropolitan Water District, in partnership with LADWP and other member agencies, offers a variety of residential and commercial rebates for water-saving appliances, toilets, sprinklers and irrigation systems through its SoCalWater$mart program. It also offers rebates to residents and business owners who replace their thirsty grass with more water-efficient sustainable landscaping. Metropolitan's investment of nearly $800 million in these and other conservation programs since the 1990s has helped cut Southern California's per capita water use by more than 35 percent. More information about Metropolitan's water-saving efforts can be found on the district's online conservation rebate portal, bewaterwise.com.
About SoCalGas
Headquartered in Los Angeles, SoCalGas® is the largest natural gas distribution utility in the United States. SoCalGas delivers affordable, reliable, clean and increasingly renewable natural 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. Natural 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 natural 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 natural gas system infrastructure while keeping bills affordable for our customers. From 2014 through 2018, the company invested nearly $6.5 billion to upgrade and modernize its natural gas 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.
About the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California
The Metropolitan Water District of Southern California is a state-established cooperative that delivers water to 26 member agencies, which along with their retail providers serve 19 million people in six counties. The district imports water from the Colorado River and Northern California to supplement local supplies, and helps develop increased water conservation, recycling, storage and other resource-management programs.
About the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power
The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP) is the nation's largest municipal utility, with a 7,880 megawatt (MW) electric capacity and serving an average of 438 million gallons of water per day to the 4 million residents of the City of Los Angeles, its businesses and visitors. For more than 100 years, LADWP has provided the city with reliable water and power service in a cost effective and environmentally responsible manner.
SOURCE Southern California Gas Company
