Hello!  I am your new SoCalGas representative to the Western San Gabriel Valley. You may know that Helen Romero Shaw is enjoying her well-earned retirement after 41 years with the Southern California Gas Company.  I’ve been with the company for a mere 21 years and am ready to be of service to you as Helen’s interim replacement.

With winter just around the corner, I want to share with you something else that’s new.  We have begun optional sign-ups for a customer text message called the Natural Gas Price Notice that we launched on November 14^th, 2023. Customers who sign up will receive a text message from SoCalGas when there is a 20 percent or more increase in the monthly natural gas commodity cost – which impacts a portion of their bills. Customers can learn more and sign up for the Natural Gas Price Notice at socalgas.com/NotifyMe or through My Account and will receive a confirmation text message once their sign-up form is submitted.

This October, the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) reported that temperatures were expected to be warmer than last winter, which was unusually cold. While the EIA is predicting a milder winter ahead of us, we continue to encourage customers to take advantage of the tools and options provided by SoCalGas to manage energy consumption and make energy-efficient home improvements to help lower bills.

In addition to approving SoCalGas’ new text message notification, the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) voted in August to increase the maximum storage level allowed at the Aliso Canyon Natural Gas Storage Facility from 41.16 billion cubic feet (bcf) to 68.6 bcf, “to enhance energy resiliency and protect ratepayers in Southern California from potential volatile wholesale natural gas prices this upcoming winter.” It also voted to lift limits on when Aliso Canyon could be used to meet customer demand. The CPUC also continues to consider a request from SoCalGas to give customers earlier access to state climate credits to assist with winter bills, by accelerating delivery of those credits from April to February.

SoCalGas has a suite of programs and services that can help customers manage their natural gas usage to help save energy and money. For example, eligible customers may sign up for a Level Pay Plan (LPP) which averages their annual natural gas use and costs over 12 months. There are also assistance programs for eligible customers who are experiencing hardships.

The SoCalGas Ways to Save tool may also help customers with energy savings options through a personalized savings plan that offers a household energy analysis, customized energy-efficiency recommendations, bill comparisons, and energy-usage comparisons that could help save on natural gas bills. Customers can also sign up for weekly Bill Tracker Alerts to monitor natural gas consumption, take steps to reduce usage, avoid bill surprises, and more.

Please call on me if you have questions or would like additional information.  Thank you.

Julia Emerson

Sr. Public Affairs Manager

SoCalGas

M 562-233-6181

jemerson@socalgas.com

Glad to be of Service^®