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.
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SOURCE Southern California Gas Company