LOS ANGELES, May 26, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Southern California Gas Co. (SoCalGas) today announced it recently made over $150,000 in energy efficiency upgrades at four affordable housing communities owned by LA Family Housing, located in North Hollywood and Van Nuys. SoCalGas installed high-efficiency boilers, 120-gallon storage tanks for water storage, pipe insulation and more, assisting more than 220 residents. The work is part of SoCalGas' Energy Savings Assistance (ESA) program's Common Area Measures (CAM) effort to cut energy use and costs as well as improve the health, comfort and safety of residents living in low-income multifamily properties.
"SoCalGas is pleased to provide these no cost upgrades for the residents at the LA Family Housing properties," said Gillian Wright, senior vice president and chief customer officer at SoCalGas and LA Family Housing Board Chair. "SoCalGas recently committed to reaching net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2045 and taking steps like this will help us to reach this goal by reducing energy use while also helping make urgently needed affordable housing more comfortable."
"LA Family Housing is so grateful for our incredible partnership with SoCalGas which has allowed us to upgrade outdated systems at four of our affordable housing properties." Said Stephanie Klasky-Gamer, President and CEO of LA Family Housing. "Because of SoCalGas's generous support, we were able to create more energy efficient and affordable residences for people in our community. It takes a village to end homelessness, and we're so grateful to have the SoCalGas team in our corner."
The CAM initiative, through the Energy Savings Assistance Program, aims to provide low-income, deed-restricted properties with energy saving upgrades to their common areas at no charge. This includes replacing central boilers and water heaters. The offering is ratepayer funded and administered by SoCalGas at the direction of the California Public Utilities Commission.
To qualify, the property must be deed-restricted, and the owner must certify that at least 65% of the resident households meet the ESA income guidelines. Energy efficiency services provided differ by utility and are limited to the communal areas, or common energy systems, of the residential building(s) or property. This program can be combined with the ESA in-unit offerings.
In the last five years, SoCalGas' energy efficiency programs have generated over $1 billion in avoided energy costs and delivered more than 219 million therms in energy savings, enough natural gas usage for 548,000 households a year. These energy savings reduced greenhouse gas emissions by 1.15 million metric tons of carbon dioxide, equivalent of removing more than 250,000 cars annually. Overall, these measures have helped SoCalGas customers save over $241 million on their natural gas bill costs over the past five years.
In 2020, the company's energy efficiency programs helped conserve more energy than any other natural gas utility in the U.S. SoCalGas' energy efficiency programs saved enough energy to power 100,000 homes in southern California for one year. The utility invests more in energy efficiency than any other local natural gas distribution company in the country and currently operates the largest natural gas energy efficiency program.
Last March, SoCalGas announced its commitment to achieve net zero greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in its operations and delivery of energy by 2045, reducing not only the company's own direct emissions, but also those generated by its customers to support a carbon neutral economy.
SoCalGas' mission is to build the cleanest, safest, and most innovative energy company in North America. More information on the company's mission and strategic priorities can be found at socalgas.com/mission.
About LA Family Housing
The mission of LA Family Housing (LAFH) is to help people transition out of homelessness and poverty through a continuum of housing enriched with supportive services. LAFH is one of the largest homeless service providers and real estate developers in Los Angeles, operating 30 properties of interim, affordable, and supportive housing across the County. The agency helps 11,000 low-income children, parents, and single adults transition out of homelessness annually.
About SoCalGas
Headquartered in Los Angeles, SoCalGas® is the largest gas distribution utility in the United States. SoCalGas delivers affordable, reliable, clean and increasingly renewable gas service to 21.8 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 company in America. In support of that mission, SoCalGas is committed to achieving 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 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 gas delivery infrastructure while keeping bills affordable for customers. Over the past five years, the company invested nearly $7.5 billion to upgrade and modernize its pipeline 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.
SOURCE Southern California Gas Company
