LOS ANGELES, June 18, 2007 (PRIME NEWSWIRE) -- Southern California Gas Co. (The Gas Company) will present a $693,220 incentive check to the County of Riverside at its June 19 Board of Supervisors meeting for the Board's installation of a 1.5 megawatt, high-efficiency energy system at the Riverside County Regional Medical Center, which produces both electricity and usable heat.
The County of Riverside and its Riverside County Regional Medical Center facility qualified for the award by participating in The Gas Company's Self-Generation Incentive Program, a state-sponsored energy-efficiency program that provides financial incentives to businesses for generating their own electricity on-site.
The County Regional Medical Center facility will benefit from environmentally friendly technology, a reliable source of electricity and an annual reduction in total energy costs.
"Since 2001, The Gas Company has awarded more than $54 million to customers installing electric-generation systems, providing the state with 60 megawatts of much-needed generation -- enough to power about 39,000 homes," said Rick Morrow, vice president of customer services for The Gas Company. "We are committed to help the Inland Empire move toward a cleaner energy future and to help reduce the costs of self-generation technologies for California consumers."
The Riverside County Regional Medical Center installed two Waukesha internal combustion engines, fueled by natural gas, which generate 750-kilowatts of electricity each providing approximately 50 percent of the electricity consumed at the site.
The two units generate enough electricity to power approximately 975 homes. In addition, the system captures waste heat for hot and cold water, which is used for an air conditioning system.
As part of its commitment to exceptional customer service, The Gas Company supports this program through marketing, customer assistance and other administration activities throughout its service territory, which covers almost all of Southern California.
For more information on the Self-Generation Incentive Program, customers can visit The Gas Company's Web site at www.socalgas.com/business/selfgen.
The Gas Company is the nation's largest natural gas distribution utility, providing safe and reliable energy to 20.1 million consumers through 5.6 million meters. The company's service territory encompasses approximately 20,000 square miles in most of central and Southern California. The Gas Company strives to provide exceptional customer service to enhance the quality of life in the community. The Gas Company is a regulated subsidiary of Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE). Sempra Energy, based in San Diego, is a Fortune 500 energy services holding company. To learn more, go to www.socalgas.com.