Winter Natural Gas Bills Will Be Higher — Some Helpful Hints On What You Can Do!

SoCalGas Among First Utilities in the Nation to Transition its Over-the-Road Fleet with Hydrogen Fuel Cell Electric Vehicles

Delivery of Toyota Mirai hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicles begins fleet transition

LOS ANGELES— January 20, 2022—Southern California Gas Company (SoCalGas) today announced that it took delivery of 23 Toyota Mirai hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicles (HFCEV), marking the company’s first purchase of hydrogen-powered vehicles. The company plans to expand its fleet of HFCEVs to 50 next month, making SoCalGas among the first utilities in the nation to start transitioning to hydrogen. These HFCEVs are an important step for SoCalGas in decarbonizing its fleet and supports the company’s Net Zero 2045 climate goal, which includes replacing 50% of its over-the-road fleet with clean fuel vehicles by 2025 and operating a 100% zero-emission fleet by 2035. View footage of the Toyota Mirai HFCEVs here.

“California companies must work together in the fight against climate change,” said State Senator Susan Rubio. “The transportation sector is one of the largest contributors of greenhouse gas emissions in California and these types of efforts will help the state meet its climate goals.”

“Each vehicle in our light duty over-the-road fleet is driven an average of 10,000 miles per year. The zero-emissions Toyota Mirai HFCEVs have a driving range of 400 miles and since they run on hydrogen the only by-product is water,” said Sandra Hrna, vice president of supply chain and operations support at SoCalGas. “Transitioning some of our fleet to HFCEVs will help us reduce emissions, moving SoCalGas closer to our net zero goal and helping California reach carbon neutrality faster.”

“Longo Toyota is honored to partner with SoCalGas on their strategy to reduce emissions from their vehicle fleet and we are excited to help them with the acquisition of 50 new Toyota Mirai fuel cell electric vehicles,” said Doug Eroh, president and general manager at Longo Toyota. “The Toyota Mirai is fueled with hydrogen and makes its own electricity on board while only emitting clean water from its tailpipe. We look forward to working with SoCalGas in the years to come on the acquisition and service of their clean vehicle fleet.”

The light-duty vehicle industry has started to shift towards zero emissions vehicles, currently dominated by battery EVs (BEVs) and complemented by hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicles. SoCalGas’ recently released economy-wide technical analysis reveals that in the light-duty vehicle sector, BEVs and HFCEVs could address different use cases. For vehicles with longer range requirements or higher utilization needs, such as taxis, ride-share fleet, or SoCalGas’ own fleet, HFCEVs could be cost competitive in the 2020s.

Earlier this year, in partnership with Hyzon Motors, SoCalGas announced plans to deploy its first hydrogen-powered fuel cell electric utility truck. As part of the partnership, Hyzon will deliver a Class 3 commercial service body utility truck to SoCalGas in 2022. The truck is expected to reach a maximum power of 200 kilowatts, with a range of 300 miles and will be built on the existing chassis OEM used by SoCalGas, minimizing the updates needed for operations, servicing, and training.

With the addition of the 50 Toyota Mirai HFCEVs, a third of SoCalGas’ over-the-road fleet currently operates on clean fuels. The company is on track to achieve its goal of 50% by 2025.

Today, SoCalGas is actively engaged in more than 10 pilot projects related to hydrogen, including a partnership with Netherlands-based HyET Hydrogen on technology that could transform hydrogen distribution and enable the rapid expansion of hydrogen fueling stations for HFCEVs like the Toyota Mirai. The technology would allow hydrogen to be easily and affordably transported via the natural gas pipeline system, then extracted and compressed at fueling stations that provide hydrogen for HFCEVs. The transition to hydrogen is a prime example and yet another way SoCalGas is demonstrating its commitment to being the cleanest, safest, and most innovative energy company in the country.

Exciting News! SoCalGas ASPIRE 2045 Sustainability Strategy

I am excited to share with you SoCalGas’ recently released ASPIRE 2045 Sustainability Strategy, the next step in our mission to building the cleanest, safest, and most innovative energy company in North America.

Last year, SoCalGas made a Climate Commitment to strive to achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emissions in its operations and delivery of energy by 2045. SoCalGas continued to build on this promise by releasing a peer reviewed study showing how repurposing existing gas infrastructure to deliver clean fuels and manage carbon to help California reach its 2045 carbon neutrality goal more affordably and with less risk than other pathways.

Our ASPIRE 2045 Sustainability Strategy is a broader set of goals and strategies that speak to the environmental health, social equity, and wellbeing in the workplace and communities that help to drive better business outcomes and build stronger and more resilient communities. The strategy includes five focus areas:

1.         Accelerating the Transition of Clean Energy

2.         Protecting the Climate and Improving Air Quality in our Communities

3.         Increasing Clean Energy Access and Affordability

4.         Advancing a Diverse, Equitable, and Inclusive Culture, and

5.         Achieving World-Class Safety.

Our ongoing journey towards being a sustainable supporting the health, safety, and wellbeing of the communities we serve is best-accomplished with collaboration, support, and input from partners like you. Together, we can achieve the long-term goals of meeting local and state climate objectives and in building a resilient and reliable energy network for our communities.

For more information about SoCalGas’ sustainability efforts and to download the ASPIRE 2045 SoCalGas Sustainability Strategy, please visit socalgas.com/aspire2045.

As a valued partner of SoCalGas, we encourage you to share this exciting announcement with your team and constituents.

SoCalGas, OPAL Fuels, and Young’s Commercial Transfer Showcase Conversion of Fleet to Renewable Natural Gas at World Ag Expo

YCT is a leading nationwide hauler and is transitioning its fleet to RNG-fueled trucks in the San Joaquin Valley

TULARE, Calif. February 8, 2022 – Southern California Gas Co. (SoCalGas), Young’s Commercial Transfer [yctinc.com] (YCT), one of the largest agricultural trucking companies in the United States, and OPAL Fuels [opalfuels.com], a leading producer and distributor of renewable natural gas (RNG), are showcasing YCT’s commitment to help decarbonize California by transitioning its fleet of heavy-duty trucks to operate on RNG. These ultra, low-emissions trucks are fueled at stations built, owned and operated by OPAL Fuels across the San Joaquin Valley. The RNG will be delivered via SoCalGas’ pipeline network. YCT currently has 80 natural gas trucks and plans to increase that to 110 by the end of March. Additionally, YCT hopes to convert 75 percent of its fleet to RNG by the end of 2023. The trucks will be equipped with Cummins Westport 12-liter engines and automatic transmission and have a driving range of up to 600 miles.

RNG is not a fossil fuel, but a lower-carbon fuel, and is produced by capturing methane emissions from organic waste, including landfill sites and dairy farms. When used in transportation end-uses in place of diesel fuel, RNG can provide significant annual operating cost savings (with LCFS and RIN credits) and help reduce the carbon footprint of heavy-duty fleets. In California, RNG used as transportation fuel has increased 177 percent over the last five years and in 2020 alone 1.83 million tons of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e) was displaced as reported by the Coalition for Renewable Natural Gas [ngvamerica.org].

Additional RNG refueling stations that use SoCalGas’ pipeline network have come online in the central San Joaquin Valley within the last 18 months. The development of these stations has provided critical alternatives in the refueling network along the heavily traveled Highway 99.

“As a Kern County Supervisor and member of the Valley Air Board, I get the chance to study and make decisions regarding energy and air pollution priorities,” said David Couch. “I have always advocated for the ‘all of the above’ approach that utilizes gas and incorporates renewables into a healthy and efficient energy and air quality portfolio. As such, natural gas is an important part of our transportation system for Ag and needs to be part of the solution.”

“Being able to represent the AG show as a Tulare County Supervisor and member of the Valley Air Board, I see firsthand how RNG can help reduce emissions,” said Amy Shuklian. “Improving public health and creating jobs are also positive outcomes.”

In California, transportation accounts for more than 41 percent of greenhouse gas emissions and 80 percent of smog-forming pollution in the state, with heavy-duty trucks among the largest polluters, according to California Air Resources Board data.

“RNG is rapidly becoming mainstream in the San Joaquin Valley, and it’s being adopted by organizations of all sizes,” said Gillian Wright, senior vice president and chief customer officer at SoCalGas. “California companies like YCT working towards carbon neutrality will help accelerate the state’s climate goals.”

“Our trucks run over 18 million miles every year, which makes us uniquely positioned to affect the air quality problem in California,” said Scott Daniel, president of YCT. “As the first link in the CA food chain, we look forward to leading our AG Partners into a new sustainable future.”

“We are proud to help enable YCT’s effort to decarbonize their fleet while simultaneously driving cost savings through adoption of ultra-low carbon renewable natural gas,” said Scott Edelbach, executive vice president of sustainable transportation fuels at OPAL Fuels. “While the U.S. transportation sector is one of the largest emitters of CO2, RNG is proof that there does not have to be a tradeoff between doing what’s best for your business and doing what’s best for the planet.”

As part of its efforts to reach its goal of net zero emissions by 2045, SoCalGas is focused on solutions to help reduce emissions in hard-to-abate sectors, including heavy duty transportation. Clean fuels such as RNG and hydrogen are important components of any solution to decarbonize hard-to-electrify parts of the California economy.  A new economy-wide technical analysis, released by SoCalGas, describes how repurposing existing gas infrastructure to deliver clean fuels, like RNG, and manage carbon can help the state reach carbon neutrality more affordably and with less risk than other pathways.

SoCalGas has worked with fleet owners to secure millions of dollars in incentive funding for the replacement of diesel trucks with cleaner, near-zero emissions natural gas trucks. Since 2014, the utility has helped truckers and trucking companies replace more than 550 diesel trucks with cleaner natural gas trucks.

Last year SoCalGas received the 2021 NGV Achievement Award in the Utility Leadership category. The award, presented by NGVAmerica [c212.net], recognized SoCalGas’ outstanding contributions to the advancement of natural gas as a transportation fuel.

About SoCalGas
Headquartered in Los Angeles, SoCalGas® is the largest gas distribution utility in the United States. SoCalGas delivers affordable, reliable, 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 the goal of 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 to core customers 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. SoCalGas is a subsidiary of Sempra (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.