Media Contacts:

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

Irene Neller  Biola Univeristy (562) 906-4520 www.biola.edu

 

LOS ANGELES and LA MIRADA, Calif., July 29, 2003 -- Southern California Gas Co. (The Gas Company®) has awarded Biola University $708,821 for installing a new high-efficiency one-megawatt cogeneration system, which produces both heat and electricity from a single fuel source.

The new equipment, together with Biola’s existing 1.2-megawatt cogeneration system, will save about $1 million in energy costs annually and satisfy 98 percent of the university’s energy needs.

          The 95-year-old private liberal arts university, which has a student population of nearly 5,000, qualified for the award by participating in the Self-Generation Incentive Program, a state-sponsored energy efficiency program that provides financial incentives to businesses for generating their own electricity on-site.

          “To date, Biola has received the highest incentive award we’ve ever paid under this program,” said Geoff Ayres, director of commercial and industrial markets for Sempra Energy utilities (The Gas Company and San Diego Gas & Electric), who notes that the size of the award varies by the size of the project and the type of fuel used.  The Gas Company has paid over $4.1 million in self-generation incentive awards to about 20 commercial customers since last October.

 

The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) launched the Self-Generation Incentive Program in 2001 in response to California’s electricity crisis. The program provides qualifying businesses with incentives of up to 50 percent of the costs of buying and installing electric generation systems.

          “The Gas Company expects to award up to $54 million in incentives during the four-year life of the program,” Ayres said.  “This program makes the purchase and installation of eligible technologies more affordable than ever.”

          “The incentive award allowed us to double the size of our planned cogeneration project, providing air conditioning, space heating and water heating to thousands of students and employees on our campus at essentially no extra cost,” said Brian Phillips, senior director for facilities services at Biola.

          The new system also produces very low emissions and meets all requirements of the South Coast Air Quality Management District, Phillips added.

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 fuel;
• $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 fuel; 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 18.9 million consumers through 5.3 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, the umbrella for Sempra Energy’s regulated California utilities.  Sempra Energy (NYSE: SRE), based in San Diego, is a Fortune 500 energy services holding company.

          Biola University, a private liberal arts Christian university, offers 145 regionally and professionally accredited academic programs leading to B.A., M.A. and Ph.D. degrees. Biola is the only Christian university recognized as a National University by the Carnegie Commission of Higher Education.  For more information on the programs and service of Biola, visit the website at www.biola.edu.

 

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