SoCalGas "Dial It Down" Alert Remains in Effect Until Further Notice

Customers are urged to immediately reduce their natural gas use to help conserve energy

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Feb 05, 2019, 12:00 ET

LOS ANGELES, Feb. 5, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Due to cold weather predicted for parts of the SoCalGas service territory, Southern California Gas Co. (SoCalGas) has issued a "Dial It Down" Alert, encouraging Southern Californians to conserve natural gas until further notice. Customers are asked to conserve energy by reducing their natural gas use, specifically in the evenings when natural gas is typically at peak use. During periods of cold weather, local demand for natural gas for home heating, hot water, and cooking can increase rapidly and put a strain on the natural gas system.

Dial It Down Alerts are similar to Flex Alerts issued by the California Independent System Operator (CAISO) that call on customers to voluntarily conserve electricity for a specific period of time.

Conservation Tips

To reduce their natural gas use during the alert period, SoCalGas customers can take simple steps, like setting their thermostat to 68 degrees when home and 55 degrees when not home. Others helpful tips include:

Washing clothes with cold water;
Taking shorter hot showers;
Reducing the temperature on water heaters;
Running only full loads of dishes and clothes;
Using low-flow shower heads;
Keeping windows and doors closed when the heater is on; and
Dressing warmer.

More information on SoCalGas' Dial It Down Alert energy conservation program can be found at socalgas.com/dialitdown.

In addition to the Dial It Down Alerts, SoCalGas has taken several actions to further promote conservation and reduce local demand for natural gas, including activating SoCalGas' Smart Therm demand response program.

The Smart Therm Program is a partnership between SoCalGas and participating smart thermostat manufacturers that aims to conserve natural gas during some cold weather events, when local demand for natural gas for home and hot water heating and cooking can increase rapidly and strain the natural gas system.

When a Smart Therm Event is called, customers who have enrolled in the Smart Therm Program are sent notifications through their smart thermostat, smart phone app, or over email (depending on the manufacturer), letting them know that their thermostats will be automatically adjusted for four hours from 5 AM to 9 AM or from 6 PM to 10 PM.

Customers who enroll in the program agree to allow their smart thermostats to be automatically lowered by as much as four degrees when a Smart Therm Event is called. Program participants are eligible to receive a $50 incentive, plus an additional $25 for staying enrolled through April 1, 2019. Customers who enroll in the program can manually adjust their thermostat at any time.

About SoCalGas
Headquartered in Los Angeles, SoCalGas^® is the largest natural gas distribution utility in the United States. SoCalGas delivers affordable, reliable, clean and increasingly renewable natural gas service to 21.8 million customers across 24,000 square miles of Central and Southern California, where more than 90 percent of residents use natural gas for heating, hot water, cooking, drying clothes or other uses. Natural gas delivered through the company's pipelines also plays a key role in providing electricity to Californians—about 60 percent of electric power generated in the state comes from gas-fired power plants.

SoCalGas is committed to investing in its natural gas system infrastructure, while keeping bills affordable for our customers. From 2013 through 2017, the company spent nearly $6 billion to upgrade and modernize its natural gas system to enhance safety and reliability. The company is also committed to being a leader in the region's clean energy future, and is working to accelerate the use of renewable natural gas from dairy farms, landfills and wastewater treatment plants and the development of renewable energy storage technologies. SoCalGas is a subsidiary of Sempra Energy (NYSE: SRE), an energy services holding company based in San Diego. For more information, visit socalgas.com/newsroom or connect with SoCalGas on Twitter (@SoCalGas), Instagram (@SoCalGas) and Facebook .

SOURCE Southern California Gas Company