SoCalGas Scholarship Program Awards Over $300,000 to College- and Trade School-Bound Students

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Jul 24, 2024, 06:55 ET

LOS ANGELES, July 24, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Southern California Gas Co. (SoCalGas) announced today that 29 students in Central and Southern California will receive a total of $314,000 from the SoCalGas Scholarship Program to pursue higher education at four-year universities, community colleges, and trade schools. For those attending four-year universities, the $5,000 scholarship can be renewed, providing a total of $20,000 over four years. Students planning to attend community colleges and trade schools will receive $1,000 each toward eligible programs. Additionally, 28 scholarship recipients from 2022 and 2023 will see their $5,000 scholarships renewed.

"For over 20 years, SoCalGas has been dedicated to empowering students by providing scholarships that enhance their access to higher education, support their journey to becoming future professionals, and contribute to a diverse pipeline of talent," said Andy Carrasco, vice president of communications, local government, and community affairs for SoCalGas. Since the program's inception in 2001, SoCalGas has awarded over $3.9 million in scholarships to 2,355 students.

The SoCalGas Scholarship Program evaluates students based on their academic achievements, community involvement, financial need, and personal statements discussing sustainable energy in California. In collaboration with Scholarship America®, the program is designed to provide direct financial assistance to students in the fields of science, technology, engineering, math, finance, accounting, business administration, plumbing, electrical, HVAC, or welding across central and southern California.

"I am honored to have been selected for this prestigious and generous scholarship opportunity from SoCalGas," said Jacqueline Rivas, a graduate from Garfield High School in East Los Angeles. "In the fall, I will attend UCLA, where I will study environmental science and biology. Thank you so much to SoCalGas for granting me this scholarship which will help me through this next chapter of my life and will guide me in the direction towards my dreams! Words cannot express my deepest gratitude and appreciation for this opportunity so I will treasure it with all my heart and will work hard to accomplish my goals for the future with the foundation that SoCalGas set for me!"

In June, SoCalGas brought this year's scholarship recipients together for a virtual recognition event where the students learned about SoCalGas' mission, internships, and entry level positions. The students also had the opportunity to network with employees that currently work in their planned field of study.

Under the ASPIRE 2045 Sustainability Strategy, SoCalGas plans to invest $50 million over five years into communities the company serves, working to advance racial and gender diversity in the workplace and taking tangible steps towards a carbon neutral future. By providing resources for higher education and career development, SoCalGas aspires to empower communities and help prepare young leaders for success.

About SoCalGas
SoCalGas is the largest gas distribution utility in the United States serving approximately 21 million consumers across approximately 24,000 square miles of Central and Southern California. SoCalGas' mission is to build the cleanest, safest, most innovative energy infrastructure company in America. SoCalGas aims to deliver affordable, reliable, and increasingly renewable gas service through its pipelines to help advance California's clean energy transition by supporting energy system reliability and resiliency and enabling the integration of renewable resources. SoCalGas is a recognized leader in its industry and community, as demonstrated by being named one of Reuters' Top 100 Innovators Leading the Global Energy Transition and Corporate Member of the Year by the Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce. SoCalGas is a subsidiary of Sempra (NYSE: SRE), a leading North American energy infrastructure company. For more information, visit SoCalGas.com/newsroom or connect with SoCalGas on social media @SoCalGas.

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

In this press release, forward-looking statements can be identified by words such as "believe," "expect," "intend," "anticipate," "contemplate," "plan," "estimate," "project," "forecast," "envision," "should," "could," "would," "will," "confident," "may," "can," "potential," "possible," "proposed," "in process," "construct," "develop," "opportunity," "preliminary," "initiative," "target," "outlook," "optimistic," "poised," "positioned," "maintain," "continue," "progress," "advance," "goal," "aim," "commit," or similar expressions, or when we discuss our guidance, priorities, strategy, goals, vision, mission, opportunities, projections, intentions or expectations. 

Factors, among others, that could cause actual results and events to differ materially from those expressed or implied in any forward-looking statement include: decisions, investigations, inquiries, regulations, denials or revocations of permits, consents, approvals or other authorizations, renewals of franchises, and other actions, including the failure to honor contracts and commitments, by the (i) California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC), U.S. Department of Energy, U.S. Internal Revenue Service and other regulatory bodies and (ii) U.S. and states, counties, cities and other jurisdictions therein where we do business; the success of business development efforts and construction projects, including risks related to (i) completing construction projects or other transactions on schedule and budget, (ii) realizing anticipated benefits from any of these efforts if completed, (iii) obtaining third-party consents and approvals and (iv) third parties honoring their contracts and commitments; macroeconomic trends or other factors that could change our capital expenditure plans and their potential impact on rate base or other growth; litigation, arbitrations and other proceedings, and changes to laws and regulations, including those related to tax and trade policy; cybersecurity threats, including by state and state-sponsored actors, of ransomware or other attacks on our systems or the systems of third parties with which we conduct business, including the energy grid or other energy infrastructure; the availability, uses, sufficiency, and cost of capital resources and our ability to borrow money on favorable terms and meet our obligations, including due to (i) actions by credit rating agencies to downgrade our credit ratings or place those ratings on negative outlook, (ii) instability in the capital markets, or (iii) rising interest rates and inflation; the impact on affordability of our customer rates and our cost of capital and on our ability to pass through higher costs to customers due to (i) volatility in inflation, interest rates and commodity prices and (ii) the cost of meeting the demand for lower carbon and reliable energy in California; the impact of climate and sustainability policies, laws, rules, regulations, trends and required disclosures, including actions to reduce or eliminate reliance on natural gas, increased uncertainty in the political or regulatory environment for California natural gas distribution companies, the risk of nonrecovery for stranded assets, and uncertainty related to emerging technologies; weather, natural disasters, pandemics, accidents, equipment failures, explosions, terrorism, information system outages or other events, such as work stoppages, that disrupt our operations, damage our facilities or systems, cause the release of harmful materials or fires or subject us to liability for damages, fines and penalties, some of which may not be recoverable through regulatory mechanisms or insurance or may impact our ability to obtain satisfactory levels of affordable insurance; the availability of natural gas and natural gas storage capacity, including disruptions caused by failures in the pipeline system or limitations on the withdrawal of natural gas from storage facilities; and other uncertainties, some of which are difficult to predict and beyond our control. 

These risks and uncertainties are further discussed in the reports that the company has 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's website, www.sempra.com. Investors should not rely unduly on any forward-looking statements. 

Sempra Infrastructure, Sempra Infrastructure Partners, Sempra Texas, Sempra Texas Utilities, Oncor Electric Delivery Company LLC (Oncor) and Infraestructura Energética Nova, S.A.P.I. 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 Infrastructure, Sempra Infrastructure Partners, Sempra Texas, Sempra Texas Utilities, Oncor and IEnova are not regulated by the CPUC. 

SOURCE Southern California Gas Company