Media Contacts:

Richard Beamish (877) 866-2066 www.socalgas.com

Atoya Mendez    City of Riverside Public Utilities (909) 826-5790

RIVERSIDE, Calif., and LOS ANGELES, March 2, 2004—Southern California Gas Co. (The Gas Company®) will emphasize the benefits of energy efficiency for low-income housing projects this week by awarding $211,500 to Riverside Housing Development Corporation (RHDC) for installing a 47-kilowatt photovoltaic energy system.

“This award proves that low-income housing residents can benefit tremendously through the right combination of government incentives and energy-efficient technologies,” said Jim King, public affairs manager for The Gas Company.  “Although electricity costs are often a burden for low-income people, many RHDC residents are now pleasantly surprised at their significantly lower electric bills.”

The $211,500 award is funded by the Self Generation Incentive Program, which encourages large energy users to generate their own electricity on-site.  The California Public Utilities Commission established this program in response to the uncertainty of electricity prices and supplies during California’s electricity crisis of 2000-2001.

City of Riverside Public Utilities Public Benefits/Business Relations Manager Atoya Mendez said, “The innovative part about our partnership with RHDC to rehabilitate the Autumn Ridge Apartments was the utility’s use of public benefits funds to pay for the photovoltaic system and its installation costs.”  The new system reduces overall electricity costs by about two-thirds for the 27-unit Autumn Ridge Apartment complex.

“We hope other California communities will use this approach to increase their use of on-site energy generation by photovoltaics, an environmentally clean and renewable energy source; to provide more affordable housing in their communities; and to give a monthly economic stimulus directly to low-income residents through lower energy bills,” said Mendez.

Riverside Public Utilities expects to install a similar photovoltaic unit by April 2004 at RHDC’s 51-unit Oak Tree Apartment complex for low-income residents, which also could qualify for an award from The Gas Company.

Overall, The Gas Company has paid more than $14 million in self-generation incentive awards to approximately 50 commercial customers since the fall of 2002.

“We expect to award up to $57 million through this program by 2006,” King said.

The Self-Generation Incentive Program offers the following incentives for generation projects of up to 1.5 megawatts:

• $4.50 per watt (not to exceed half of the total project cost) for using photovoltaic, wind turbines and fuel cells operating on renewable fuels;
• $2.50 per watt (not to exceed 40 percent of the total project cost) for fuel cells operating on non-renewable fuels;
• $1.50 per watt (not to exceed 40 percent of the total project cost) for micro-turbines, internal combustion engines and small gas turbines operating on renewable fuels; and
• $1 per watt (not to exceed 30 percent of the total project cost) for microturbines, internal combustion engines and small turbines with combined heat and power.

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 19 million consumers through 5.4 million meters.  The company’s service territory encompasses 23,000 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 part of Sempra Energy Utilities, Sempra Energy’s regulated California utilities.  Sempra Energy (NYSE: SRE), based in San Diego, is a Fortune 500 energy services holding company.  To learn more, go to www.socalgas.com.

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