SDG&E Releases Sustainability Strategy to Advance Carbon Neutrality

Strategy Outlines Initiatives to Enable a Just and Equitable Transition to a Cleaner Energy Economy

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Oct 08, 2020, 07:00 ET

SAN DIEGO, Oct. 8, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Amid the growing urgency to address climate change and its impacts, San Diego Gas & Electric Company (SDG&E) today released a comprehensive sustainability strategy with aspirational goals in the areas of environmental stewardship, clean transportation, grid modernization, community engagement, and company operations to support California's clean energy ambitions.

The company's holistic approach to sustainability builds on environmental, social and governance (ESG) principles, as well as its accomplishments to date. Titled "Building a Better Future: Our Commitment to Sustainability" (available at sdge.com/sustainability), the document will serve as a foundation for SDG&E to work toward key sustainability goals in the years and decades to come. Similar to climate action plans developed by local cities, SDG&E aims to update and evolve its "living" sustainability strategy to reflect stakeholder feedback, regulatory policies and technological breakthroughs.

"It's imperative that we move more quickly to address climate change with strategic investments and partnerships because the stakes are so high if we fail to take collective action now," said Caroline Winn, SDG&E's chief executive officer. "As an energy company, we have an important role to play in the fight against climate change by not only doing our part to reduce emissions from our own operations, but to also develop and encourage the use of energy innovations that can make a difference."

SDG&E aligned its sustainability goals with California's landmark climate policies and the company's own values: "do the right thing," "champion people" and "shape the future." The company recognizes its duties to provide safe, reliable and affordable energy services, as well as the systemic inequities that have existed for many years in society. It's committed to working with regional stakeholders and community-based organizations to help facilitate a just and equitable transition to a cleaner energy economy that does not leave behind vulnerable populations facing disproportionate impacts.

SDG&E is an innovative San Diego-based energy company that provides clean, safe and reliable energy to better the lives of the people it serves in San Diego and southern Orange counties. The company is committed to creating a sustainable future by providing its electricity from renewable sources; modernizing natural gas pipelines; accelerating the adoption of electric vehicles; supporting numerous non-profit partners; and investing in innovative technologies to ensure the reliable operation of the region's infrastructure for generations to come. SDG&E is a subsidiary of Sempra Energy (NYSE: SRE). For more information, visit SDGEnews.com [c212.net] or connect with SDG&E on Twitter (@SDGE [c212.net]), Instagram (@SDGE [c212.net]) and Facebook [c212.net].

This [report/press release] contains statements that are not historical fact and constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements are based on assumptions with respect to the future, involve risks and uncertainties, and are not guarantees of performance. Future results may differ materially from those expressed in the forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements represent our estimates and assumptions only as of the date of this [report/press release]. We assume no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statement as a result of new information, future events or other factors.

In this [report/press release], forward-looking statements can be identified by words such as "believes," "expects," "anticipates," "plans," "estimates," "projects," "forecasts," "should," "could," "would," "will," "confident," "may," "can," "potential," "possible," "proposed," "target," "pursue," "outlook," "maintain," or similar expressions, or when we discuss our guidance, strategy, goals, vision, mission, opportunities, projections or intentions.

Factors, among others, that could cause our actual results and future actions to differ materially from those described in any forward-looking statements include risks and uncertainties relating to: California wildfires and the risk that we may be found liable for damages regardless of fault and the risk that we may not be able to recover any such costs from insurance, the wildfire fund established by California Assembly Bill 1054 or in rates from customers; decisions, investigations, regulations, issuances of permits and other authorizations, renewal of franchises, and other actions by (i) the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC), U.S. Department of Energy, and other regulatory and governmental bodies and (ii) states, cities, counties and other jurisdictions in the U.S. in which we operate or do business; the success of business development efforts and construction projects, including risks in (i) the ability to make a final investment decision and completing construction projects on schedule and budget, (ii) counterparties' financial or other ability to fulfill contractual commitments, and (iii) the ability to realize anticipated benefits from any of these efforts once completed; the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on our (i) ability to commence and complete capital and other projects and obtain regulatory approvals, (ii) supply chain and current and prospective counterparties, contractors, customers, employees and partners, (iii) liquidity, resulting from bill payment challenges experienced by our customers, including in connection with a CPUC-ordered suspension of service disconnections, decreased stability and accessibility of the capital markets and other factors, and (iv) ability to sustain operations and satisfy compliance requirements due to social distancing measures or if employee absenteeism were to increase significantly; the resolution of civil and criminal litigation, regulatory inquiries, investigations and proceedings, and arbitrations; actions by credit rating agencies to downgrade our credit ratings or to place those ratings on negative outlook and our ability to borrow at favorable interest rates; moves to reduce or eliminate reliance on natural gas; weather, natural disasters, accidents, equipment failures, computer system outages and other events that disrupt our operations, damage our facilities and systems, cause the release of harmful materials, cause fires and subject us to liability for property damage or personal injuries, fines and penalties, some of which may not be covered by insurance (including costs in excess of applicable policy limits), may be disputed by insurers or may otherwise not be recoverable through regulatory mechanisms or may impact our ability to obtain satisfactory levels of affordable insurance; the availability of electric power and natural gas and natural gas storage capacity, including disruptions caused by failures in the transmission grid, limitations on the withdrawal or injection of natural gas from or into storage facilities, and equipment failures; cybersecurity threats to the energy grid, storage and pipeline infrastructure, the information and systems used to operate our businesses, and the confidentiality of our proprietary information and the personal information of our customers and employees; the impact on competitive customer rates and reliability due to the growth in distributed and local power generation, including from departing retail load resulting from customers transferring to Direct Access, Community Choice Aggregation or other forms of distributed or local power generation, and the risk of nonrecovery for stranded assets and contractual obligations; volatility in interest and inflation rates and commodity prices and our ability to effectively hedge the risk of such volatility; the impact of changes to U.S. federal and state tax laws and our ability to mitigate adverse impacts; and other uncertainties, some of which may be difficult to predict and are beyond our control.

These risks and uncertainties are further discussed in the reports that San Diego Gas & Electric Company and its parent company, Sempra Energy, have filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). These reports are available through the EDGAR system free-of-charge on the SEC's website, www.sec.gov, and on Sempra Energy's website, www.sempra.com. Investors should not rely unduly on any forward-looking statements.

Sempra North American Infrastructure, Sempra LNG, Sempra Mexico, Sempra Texas Utilities, Oncor Electric Delivery Company LLC (Oncor) and Infraestructura Energética Nova, S.A.B. de C.V. (IEnova) are not the same companies as the California utilities, San Diego Gas & Electric Company or Southern California Gas Company, and Sempra North American Infrastructure, Sempra LNG, Sempra Mexico, Sempra Texas Utilities, Oncor and IEnova are not regulated by the CPUC.

SOURCE San Diego Gas & Electric