Sempra Energy Releases Latest Corporate Responsibility Report

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Aug 31, 2012, 12:52 ET

SAN DIEGO, Aug. 31, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Sempra Energy (NYSE: SRE) today released its latest corporate responsibility report, showcasing the company's initiatives and performance on a wide range of sustainability-related issues, including environmental stewardship, the safe operation of energy infrastructure, and successful employee engagement and development.

The company's fourth annual corporate responsibility report, titled "Listen, Plan, Act," illustrates Sempra Energy's values and defines the company's business approach. The report also details Sempra Energy's sustainable business model, which emphasizes renewable power, energy efficiency, clean-burning natural gas and innovation.

"Our goal is to balance the fundamental changes in the energy industry, while integrating sustainable resources to provide our customers with safe, reliable and cost-effective energy," said Debra L. Reed, chief executive officer of Sempra Energy.

Highlights from the report include:

Renewable energy: San Diego Gas & Electric provides more than 20 percent of its electricity from renewable sources and, in 2011, signed 17 renewable energy supply contracts, adding nearly 1,500 megawatts of capacity to its power portfolio. Sempra U.S. Gas & Power ended the year more than one-fifth of the way toward its five-year goal of developing 1,400 megawatts of renewable energy.
Lower carbon emissions: Sempra Energy's total greenhouse-gas emissions decreased by about 17 percent in 2011. Based on the company's current business strategy, which includes the continued development of renewable energy generation, Sempra Energy is aiming for an additional 20-percent decrease in its carbon-dioxide emissions rate by 2016.
Public and workplace safety: In 2011, there were no major injuries or deaths directly related to the company's operations. Southern California Gas Co. continued its inspection of key natural gas transmission pipelines and is on schedule to meet goals and regulatory requirements. Sempra International created additional safety awareness through new safety alerts and an online training system.
Employee engagement: Through increased outreach, about three-quarters of all employees participated in Sempra Energy's engagement survey, which measures overall satisfaction, commitment and pride in the company and their work. Employees' answers to questions on these topics place Sempra in the 94th percentile of Fortune 500 companies.

Sempra Energy's fourth annual corporate responsibility report is available online at: http://www.sempra.com/cr/19.html.

Sempra Energy has four principal subsidiaries: Southern California Gas Co., San Diego Gas & Electric, Sempra U.S. Gas & Power and Sempra International. San Diego Gas & Electric and Southern California Gas Co. are regulated utilities that provide electricity and natural gas service to more than 20 million California consumers. Sempra U.S. Gas & Power has solar, wind and natural gas-fueled power plants in the U.S. and also owns natural gas storage and pipeline facilities, as well as distribution utilities. Sempra International develops, builds and operates energy infrastructure assets and distributes electricity and natural gas to customers in Mexico, Chile, Peru and Argentina.

Sempra Energy, based in San Diego, is a Fortune 500 energy services holding company with 2011 revenues of $10 billion. The Sempra Energy companies' 17,500 employees serve more than 31 million consumers worldwide.

This 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. These statements can be identified by words like "believes," "expects," "anticipates," "intends," "plans," "estimates," "may," "will," "would," "could," "should," "potential," "target," "outlook," "depends," "pursue" or similar expressions, or discussions of guidance, strategies, plans, goals, initiatives, objectives or intentions. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of performance. They involve risks, uncertainties and assumptions. Future results may differ materially from those expressed in the forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are necessarily based upon various assumptions involving judgments with respect to the future and other risks, including, among others: local, regional, national and international economic, competitive, political, legislative and regulatory conditions and developments; actions by the California Public Utilities Commission, California State Legislature, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, U.S. Department of Energy, Nuclear Regulatory Commission, California Energy Commission, California Air Resources Board, and other regulatory, governmental and environmental bodies in the United States and other countries where the company does business; capital market conditions, including the availability of credit and the liquidity of investments; inflation, interest and exchange rates; the impact of benchmark interest rates, generally the U.S. Treasury bond and Moody's A-rated utility bond yields, on the California utilities' cost of capital; the timing and success of business development efforts and construction, maintenance and capital projects, including risks inherent in the ability to obtain, and the timing of the granting of, permits, licenses, certificates and other authorizations; energy markets, including the timing and extent of changes and volatility in commodity prices; the availability of electric power, natural gas and liquefied natural gas, including disruptions caused by failures in the North American transmission grid, pipeline explosions and equipment failures; weather conditions, natural disasters, catastrophic accidents, and conservation efforts; risks inherent in nuclear power generation and radioactive materials storage, including catastrophic release of such materials, the disallowance of the recovery of the investment in, or operating costs of, the generation facility due to an extended outage, and increased regulatory oversight; risks posed by decisions and actions of third parties who control the operations of investments in which the company does not have a controlling interest; wars, terrorist attacks and cyber security threats; business, regulatory, environmental and legal decisions and requirements; expropriation of assets by foreign governments and title and other property disputes; the status of deregulation of retail natural gas and electricity delivery; the inability or determination not to enter into long-term supply and sales agreements or long-term firm capacity agreements; the resolution of litigation; and other uncertainties, all of which are difficult to predict and many of which are beyond the control of the company. These risks and uncertainties are further discussed in the reports that Sempra Energy has filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. These reports are available through the EDGAR system free-of-charge on the SEC's website, www.sec.gov, and on the company's website at www.sempra.com.

These forward-looking statements speak only as of the date hereof, and the company undertakes no obligation to update or revise these forecasts or projections or other forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

Sempra International, LLC, and Sempra U.S. Gas & Power, LLC, are not the same companies as San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E) or Southern California Gas Company (SoCalGas) and Sempra International, LLC and Sempra U.S. Gas & Power, LLC are not regulated by the California Public Utilities Commission. Sempra International's underlying entities include Sempra Mexico and Sempra South American Utilities. Sempra U.S. Gas & Power's underlying entities include Sempra Renewables and Sempra Natural Gas.

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