LOS ANGELES, Sept. 21, 2006 (PRIMEZONE) -- Southern California Gas Company (The Gas Company) today said it expects to provide its business customers with at least $2.4 million between now and 2008 through its new Energy-Efficiency Grant Program. The program helps fund "extreme energy-efficiency" projects that save at least 250,000 natural gas therms per year -- enough energy to meet the needs of about 460 homes.
"Several of our business customers already have enrolled and many others are expressing an interest in participating," said Mark Gaines, director of customer programs for The Gas Company. "This program provides as much as $300,000 per business customer, which helps provide the incentive to move ahead with major energy-efficiency projects."
The Energy-Efficiency Grant Program is open to any non-residential customers in The Gas Company's service territory.
The Gas Company is awarding its first incentive payment from the program this month to Vertis Communications, a provider of targeted advertising, media, marketing and other communications services. The customer is saving about 335,000 therms annually -- worth more than $170,000 per year at today's natural gas prices -- by improving the energy efficiency of two of its printing facilities in Pomona and Riverside.
"The Gas Company is giving us a total of about $167,000, which will reduce our payback period by six months so that we recover our investment in about 2.5 years," said Ken Kowal, engineering projects manager for Vertis Communications.
The Energy-Efficiency Grant Program offers payments for a variety of energy-efficiency projects. Participants can qualify through equipment replacements and/or process improvements, such as installing a new heat-recovery system or redesigning an industrial process line. Chain stores also can qualify by combining their energy-efficiency savings from multiple sites.
Customers can learn more about the program by contacting their representative from The Gas Company, visiting www.socalgas.com/energyefficiency or calling (800) GAS-2000.
The grant program is part of The Gas Company's full line of energy-efficiency programs for homes and businesses, which include rebates for energy-efficient cooking equipment and a variety of other appliances (boilers, water heaters and steam traps, etc.). The Gas Company has a three-year goal of saving about 58 million therms of natural gas -- enough to serve about 107,000 homes for a year.
"We're interested in helping any cost-effective energy-efficiency project in our service territory," Gaines said.
The Gas Company is the nation's largest natural gas distribution utility, providing safe and reliable energy to 19.8 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.