Media Statement on Department of Public Health Results from Indoor Environmental Testing in Porter Ranch

LOS ANGELES, May 15, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- On Friday, May 13, the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health (DPH) released the results of its Indoor Environmental Testing Protocol in the Porter Ranch area.  DPH also issued a directive to Southern California Gas Company (SoCalGas) to offer and implement, at its own cost, a comprehensive cleaning protocol. In response, SoCalGas issued the following statement: 

"The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health (DPH) has acknowledged that no barrier exists for residents to return home, and it is safe for residents to be home in Porter Ranch and the surrounding community.  The Department of Public Health's data clearly indicate that there are no levels of concern of any of the approximately 250 substances the agency tested for in the homes, including metals such as barium, none of which was detected at any level of health concern.  

"DPH previewed its findings the night before at the May 12th Porter Ranch Neighborhood Council's Community Advisory Committee meeting, where DPH stated its desire to 'assure everyone that the levels detected, even of metals, are in fact, very low' and that the answer to the question of whether it is safe to return home is yes, 'people can safely move back into their homes.'

"This data finally provides residents with the additional support they have been looking for: There is no risk to public health related to the leak that was permanently sealed months ago.  It is long past the time for the residents who chose to remain relocated to exit the relocation program, and for the community as a whole to return to normal.

"DPH recommends that residents clean their homes with soap and water, and vacuum out of an abundance of caution to address dust that may have accumulated while residents were away. DPH also stated that cleaning 'is not a barrier to move back in.'   SoCalGas is reviewing a DPH directive regarding the funding of a comprehensive cleaning protocol for all homes in the Porter Ranch area.  At this time, in light of the data confirming that it is safe to return home, SoCalGas is not offering cleaning to additional residents.

"We continue to work to support the transition back to normalcy.  Over the past several months, our dedicated employees, many of whom live in Porter Ranch, have served more than 30,000 resident visits at our Community Resource Center, provided temporary housing for 8,000 families, processed more than 41,000 reimbursements totaling $76 million, installed 38,000 air filtration systems, and cleaned public parks, playgrounds, and schools.

"We continue to work quickly to process reimbursements, and we will deliver on our promise to mitigate the greenhouse gas emissions from the leak."

About Southern California Gas Co: Southern California Gas Co. (SoCalGas) has been delivering clean, safe and reliable natural gas to its customers for more than 145 years. It is the nation's largest natural gas distribution utility, providing service to 21.6 million consumers connected through 5.9 million meters in more than 500 communities. The company's service territory encompasses approximately 20,000 square miles throughout central and Southern California, from Visalia to the Mexican border. SoCalGas is a regulated subsidiary of Sempra Energy (NYSE: SRE), a Fortune 500 energy services holding company based in San Diego. 

This press release contains statements that are not historical fact and constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements can be identified by words like "believes," "expects," "anticipates," "plans," "estimates," "projects," "forecasts," "contemplates," "intends," "assumes," "depends," "should," "could," "would," "will," "confident," "may," "potential," "possible," "proposed," "target," "pursue," "goals," "outlook," "maintain" or similar expressions, or discussions of guidance, strategies, plans, goals, opportunities, projections, initiatives, objectives or intentions. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of performance. They involve risks, uncertainties and assumptions. Future results may differ materially from those expressed in the forward-looking statements. 

Forward-looking statements are necessarily based upon various assumptions involving judgments with respect to the future and other risks, including, among others: local, regional, and national economic, competitive, political, legislative, legal, and regulatory conditions, decisions, and developments; actions and the timing of actions, including general rate case decisions, new regulations, issuances of permits to construct, operate and maintain facilities and equipment and to use land, franchise agreements, and licenses for operation, by the California Public Utilities Commission, California State Legislature, U.S. Department of Energy, California Division of Oil, Gas and Geothermal Resources, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, California Energy Commission, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, California Air Resources Board, South Coast Air Quality Management District, cities and counties, and other regulatory, governmental and environmental bodies in the United States; the timing and success of business development efforts and construction, maintenance and capital projects, including risks in obtaining, maintaining or extending permits, licenses, certificates and other authorizations on a timely basis and risks in obtaining adequate and competitive financing for such projects;  the resolution of civil and criminal litigation and regulatory investigations; deviations from regulatory precedent or practice that result in a reallocation of benefits or burdens among shareholders and ratepayers and delays in regulatory agency authorization to recover costs in rates from customers; the availability of electric power and natural gas, and natural gas pipeline and storage capacity, including disruptions caused by failures in the North American transmission grid, moratoriums on the ability to withdraw natural gas from or inject natural gas into storage facilities, pipeline explosions and equipment failures; energy markets; the timing and extent of changes and volatility in commodity prices; the impact on the value of our natural gas storage assets from low natural gas prices, low volatility of natural gas prices and the inability to procure favorable long-term contracts for natural gas storage services; risks that our partners or counterparties will be unable (due to liquidity issues, bankruptcy or otherwise) or unwilling to fulfill their contractual commitments; capital markets conditions, including the availability of credit and the liquidity of our investments, and inflation and interest rates; cybersecurity threats to the energy grid, natural gas storage and pipeline infrastructure, the information and systems used to operate our businesses and the confidentiality of our proprietary information and the personal information of our customers and employees; terrorist attacks that threaten system operations and critical infrastructure; wars; weather conditions, natural disasters, catastrophic accidents, equipment failures and other events that may disrupt our operations, damage our facilities and systems, cause the release of greenhouse gasses and harmful emissions, and subject us to third-party liability for property damage or personal injuries, fines and penalties, some of which may not be covered by insurance or may be disputed by insurers; the inability or determination not to enter into long-term supply and sales agreements or long-term firm capacity agreements due to insufficient market interest, unattractive pricing or other factors; and other uncertainties, all of which are difficult to predict and many of which are beyond our control. 

These risks and uncertainties are further discussed in the reports that the company has filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. These reports are available through the EDGAR system free-of-charge on the SEC's website, www.sec.gov.Investors should not rely unduly on any forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements speak only as of the date hereof, and the company undertakes no obligation to update or revise these forecasts or projections or other forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

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SOURCE Southern California Gas Company