SoCalGas Launches "SoCalGas CAREs" Campaign to Bring Awareness to CARE Assistance Program for Customers Facing Financial Hardship due to COVID-19

LOS ANGELES, April 6, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Southern California Gas Co. (SoCalGas) today launched a campaign titled, "SoCalGas CAREs" for customers whose income may have recently changed due to COVID-19 or other reasons. The campaign aims to let customers know of their eligibility to qualify for SoCalGas' assistance program, California Alternate Rates for Energy or CARE, saving them 20 percent on their monthly natural gas bills. Over the next several weeks, SoCalGas will begin running both social media and television ads promoting the "SoCalGas CAREs" campaign.

"SoCalGas is committed to assisting the communities we serve during this challenging period," said Jeff Walker, Vice President of Customer Solutions at SoCalGas. "We recognize that many families are facing unexpected hardships such as job and income loss right now and we want to remind them that SoCalGas' assistance programs like CARE can help."

The CARE program aids people in paying their utility bills by providing a 20 percent discount on monthly natural gas bills.

Customers who have become recently unemployed or who are currently facing financial hardship due to the coronavirus pandemic or for other reasons are encouraged to visit socalgas.com/care, complete the quick online application and find out instantly if they qualify. The CARE online application is available in English, Spanish, Chinese, Korean and Vietnamese.

Other customer assistance programs SoCalGas offers include:

Gas Assistance Fund

• If you or someone you know is having difficulty paying your gas bill, the Gas Assistance Fund (GAF) may be able to provide you with a one-time grant for the amount of the gas bill, not to exceed $100.00.
• The Gas Assistance Fund is a joint effort of SoCalGas and United Way of Greater Los Angeles. They work with non-profit partner organizations throughout our service territory to administer the program.
• You may qualify for the Gas Assistance Fund based on your yearly household income.

Medical Baseline Allowance

• The Medical Baseline Allowance program provides additional natural gas at the lowest baseline rate for individuals with a serious health condition.
• You may qualify for the Medical Baseline Allowance if a full-time member of your household:
• Has a life-threatening illness or a compromised immune system
• Is seriously disabled
• Requires more heat in winter due to a serious health condition or to prevent deterioration of the individual's medical condition
• Eligibility is based on medical condition only, not household income.

Please visit socalgas.com/assistance for more information on how to know if you qualify for these programs as well as how to apply.

SoCalGas understands this is a challenging time for all and wants to assure customers natural gas service will be there for their communities. SoCalGas will continue to make safety and emergency service appointments, including reports of suspected natural gas leaks, carbon monoxide checks, gas meter turn-ons, natural gas outage and pilot re-lights. And we will continue to perform work needed to safely and reliably maintain infrastructure so we can continue to provide customers with safe and essential energy services.

Service disconnections have been suspended until further notice. This means no customer will have their natural gas turned off due to non-payment. SoCalGas has also temporarily waived late fees for small business customers. As a reminder, SoCalGas never charges late fees for residential customers.

Additional information about SoCalGas' response to COVID-19 is available here.

About SoCalGas

Headquartered in Los Angeles, SoCalGas® is the largest gas distribution utility in the United States. SoCalGas delivers affordable, reliable, clean and increasingly renewable 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. Gas delivered through the company's pipelines also plays a key role in providing electricity to Californians— about 45 percent of electric power generated in the state comes from gas-fired power plants.

SoCalGas' vision is to be the cleanest gas utility in North America, delivering affordable and increasingly renewable energy to its customers. In support of that vision, SoCalGas is committed to replacing 20 percent of its traditional natural gas supply with renewable natural gas (RNG) by 2030. Renewable natural gas is made from waste created by dairy farms, landfills and wastewater treatment plants. SoCalGas is also committed to investing in its gas delivery infrastructure while keeping bills affordable for our customers. From 2014 through 2018, the company invested nearly $6.5 billion to upgrade and modernize its pipeline system to enhance safety and reliability. 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

Related Links

http://www.socalgas.com