LOS ANGELES, Oct. 6, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Southern California Gas Co. (SoCalGas) today sponsored CicLAvia: Heart of LA for the fourth consecutive year with a booth at the event's Chinatown hub. The company held cooking demonstrations from Chinatown chefs, offered food tastings, shared information on the company's customer assistance programs and more.

"Some of the best food in Los Angeles is cooked with natural gas, so SoCalGas is teaming up with Chinatown chefs who help create some of the most amazing cuisine of this neighborhood," said Trisha Muse, director of Community Relations at SoCalGas. "Highlighting the need for more walking, biking and the like during CicLAvia helps us all slow down and appreciate the diverse neighborhoods, restaurants, and treasures of our great city."

"We are thrilled to have SoCalGas as a partner," said Romel Pascual, executive director of CicLAvia. "CicLAvia is about reimagining our streets, our communities, our city, and our region in innovative ways that embrace sustainability. And together, we are showing Angelenos the many possibilities of creating a more livable city."

SoCalGas' participation at the CicLAvia event included:

• Cooking demonstrations from top Chinatown chefs including Chef Zheng of Tian's Dim Sum & Chef Royce Burke who prepared tastings of dishes such as Xiao Long Bao, Braised Pork Belly Bowl and more.
• Information on SoCalGas' Customer Assistance Programs including tips to save money on energy bills and apply for rebates and energy efficient upgrades.

Please see here for photos from SoCalGas' participation at CicLAvia: Heart of LA.

CicLAvia is the country's largest open streets event. CicLAvia: Heart of LA connected the communities of Westlake, Chinatown, Little Tokyo, Boyle Heights and Downtown Los Angeles. Streets were closed to cars and open for cyclists, pedestrians, runners and skaters to use as a recreational space showcasing Los Angeles's commitment to healthy communities and clean air.

SoCalGas remains committed to improving our environment and supporting California's environmental goals. Earlier this year, SoCalGas committed to replacing 20 percent of its traditional natural gas supply with renewable natural gas (RNG) by 2030 – as part of a broad, inclusive and integrated plan to help achieve California's climate goals while maintaining affordability, reliability and choice for its customers.

RNG is a renewable fuel produced from food waste, farms, landfills, and even sewer systems. It can rapidly cut greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs) because it takes more climate pollution out of the air than it emits as an energy source. RNG is already helping eliminate emissions from trucks and buses.

Research shows that replacing about 20 percent of California's traditional natural gas supply with RNG would lower emissions equal to retrofitting every building in the state to run on electric only energy and at a fraction of the cost. Using RNG in buildings can be two to three times less expensive than any all-electric strategy and does not require families or businesses to purchase new appliances or take on costly construction projects.

Last year, SoCalGas donated more than $7 million to non-profits and community organizations. SoCalGas employees contributed more than $700 thousand dollars through payroll deductions and performed thousands of volunteer hours for various nonprofit groups throughout its service territory.

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.

SOURCE Southern California Gas Company