SoCalGas Machine Learning Project Achieves $150,000 Annual Savings, Nearly 1,000 Metric Tons of Annual CO2 Reductions For Industrial Customer

METRON machine learning technology helped digitize and optimize operations and identify opportunities for increased efficiency and reduced greenhouse gas emissions

LOS ANGELES, June 15, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Southern California Gas Co. (SoCalGas) is announcing the results of a machine learning project that helped an industrial customer achieve $150,000 in annual, recurring energy savings and nearly 1,000 metric tons of annual CO2 reductions, all through an initial setup cost of just $100,000. Thanks to this technology, The Gill Corporation has cut its yearly utility bill by 6 percent, while also reducing CO2 – equivalent to avoiding 112,524 gallons of gasoline consumed annually.

The project, a collaboration with the METRON company, set out to find ways to use machine learning and digitization to help optimize industrial processes for cost and energy savings, along with reducing their emissions. In 2020, SoCalGas and METRON selected The Gill Corporation, a leading manufacturer of high-performance composite materials and products for the aerospace, transportation, and other industries, for deployment of this technology.

"Energy efficiency continues to be one of the most cost-effective ways we can reduce greenhouse gas emissions and promote energy reliability now as we continue to develop additional tools to achieve our company's and California's efforts to achieve net zero," said Neil Navin, SoCalGas Chief Clean Fuels Officer. "We're thrilled at the cost savings and CO2 reductions achieved from the METRON project and are eager to find more opportunities for SoCalGas customers to explore this technology."

"We are pleased to have been able to quantify these figures and reduce our organization's carbon footprint and energy costs. It is only the beginning," said Israel Palomino, Senior Mechanical Engineer at The Gill Corporation.

"We are proud of the results delivered for The Gill Corporation with SoCalGas. We are looking forward to rolling out the METRON platform at a wider scale in California to support other SoCalGas industrial customers with energy consumption and carbon reduction through energy efficiency," said Vincent Sciandra, CEO of METRON.

The technology behind METRON used machine learning to determine where in the industrial processes resources were needed or where data was lacking and additional sensors would be required to fill information gaps. The project allowed a fully centralized digitization of The Gill Corporation's operations and identified significant ways to reduce both energy use and carbon emissions.

The METRON project is among dozens of research, development and demonstration projects that SoCalGas is funding to help achieve its aim to have net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2045. In 2022 alone, SoCalGas' Research Development & Demonstration (RD&D) program invested more than $13 million in hundreds of energy technology and clean fuels projects—from technology that converts carbon dioxide from industrial sources into consumer products to fuel-flexible power generators or innovative hydrogen fuel cell yard trucks for demanding port operations. The program, along with its partners, will be supporting approximately $400 million in decarbonization research through 2025.

More information about SoCalGas' RD&D projects can be found in SoCalGas' recently released RD&D Annual Report.

About SoCalGas
Headquartered in Los Angeles, SoCalGas^® is the largest gas distribution utility in the United States. SoCalGas delivers affordable, reliable, and increasingly renewable gas service to over 21 million consumers across 24,000 square miles of Central and Southern California. Gas delivered through the company's pipelines will continue to play a key role in California's clean energy transition—providing electric grid reliability and supporting wind and solar energy deployment. 

SoCalGas' mission is to build the cleanest, safest and most innovative energy infrastructure company in America. In support of that mission, SoCalGas aspires to achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emissions in its operations and delivery of energy by 2045 and to replacing 20 percent of its traditional natural gas supply to core customers with renewable natural gas (RNG) by 2030. Renewable natural gas is made from waste created by landfills and wastewater treatment plants. SoCalGas is also committed to investing in its gas delivery infrastructure while keeping bills affordable for customers. SoCalGas is a subsidiary of Sempra (NYSE: SRE), an energy infrastructure company based in San Diego. 

For more information visit socalgas.com/newsroom or connect with SoCalGas on Twitter (@SoCalGas), Instagram (@SoCalGas) and Facebook. 

This press release contains statements that constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements are based on assumptions with respect to the future, involve risks and uncertainties, and are not guarantees. Future results may differ materially from those expressed or implied in any forward-looking statement. These forward-looking statements represent our estimates and assumptions only as of the date of this press release. We assume no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statement as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. 

In this press release, forward-looking statements can be identified by words such as "believes," "expects," "intends," "anticipates," "contemplates," "plans," "estimates," "projects," "forecasts," "should," "could," "would," "will," "confident," "may," "can," "potential," "possible," "proposed," "in process," "construct," "develop," "opportunity," "initiative," "target," "outlook," "optimistic," "poised," "maintain," "continue," "progress," "advance," "goal," "aim," "commit," or similar expressions, or when we discuss our guidance, priorities, strategy, goals, vision, mission, opportunities, projections, intentions or expectations. 

Factors, among others, that could cause actual results and events to differ materially from those expressed or implied in any forward-looking statement include risks and uncertainties relating to: decisions, investigations, inquiries, regulations, issuances or revocations of permits, consents, approvals or other authorizations, renewals of franchises, and other actions by (i) the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC), U.S. Department of Energy, and other governmental and regulatory bodies and (ii) the U.S. and states, counties, cities and other jurisdictions therein in which we do business; the success of business development efforts and construction projects, including risks in (i) completing construction projects or other transactions on schedule and budget, (ii) realizing anticipated benefits from any of these efforts if completed, and (iii) obtaining the consent or approval of third parties; litigation, arbitrations and other proceedings, and changes to laws and regulations; cybersecurity threats, including by state and state-sponsored actors, of ransomware or other attacks on our systems or the systems of third-parties with which we conduct business, including the energy grid or other energy infrastructure, all of which have become more pronounced due to recent geopolitical events; our ability to borrow money on favorable terms and meet our obligations, including due to (i) actions by credit rating agencies to downgrade our credit ratings or place those ratings on negative outlook or (ii) rising interest rates and inflation; failure of our counterparties to honor their contracts and commitments; the impact on affordability of our customer rates and our cost of capital and on our ability to pass through higher costs to customers due to (i) volatility in inflation, interest rates and commodity prices, and (ii) the cost of the clean energy transition in California; the impact of climate and sustainability policies, laws, rules, regulations, disclosures and trends, including actions to reduce or eliminate reliance on natural gas, increased uncertainty in the political or regulatory environment for California natural gas distribution companies, the risk of nonrecovery for stranded assets, and our ability to incorporate new technologies; weather, natural disasters, pandemics, accidents, equipment failures, explosions, terrorism, information system outages or other events that disrupt our operations, damage our facilities or systems, cause the release of harmful materials or fires or subject us to liability for damages, fines and penalties, some of which may not be recoverable through regulatory mechanisms or insurance or may impact our ability to obtain satisfactory levels of affordable insurance; the availability of natural gas and natural gas storage capacity, including disruptions caused by failures in the pipeline system or limitations on the withdrawal of natural gas from storage facilities; changes in tax and trade policies, laws and regulations, including tariffs, revisions to international trade agreements and sanctions, such as those imposed in connection with the war in Ukraine, any of which may increase our costs, reduce our competitiveness, impact our ability to do business with certain counterparties, or impair our ability to resolve trade disputes; and other uncertainties, some of which are difficult to predict and beyond our control. 

These risks and uncertainties are further discussed in the reports that the company has filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). These reports are available through the EDGAR system free-of-charge on the SEC's website, www.sec.gov, and on Sempra's website, www.sempra.com. Investors should not rely unduly on any forward-looking statements. 

Sempra Infrastructure, Sempra Infrastructure Partners, Sempra Texas, Sempra Texas Utilities, Oncor Electric Delivery Company LLC (Oncor) and Infraestructura Energética Nova, S.A.P.I. de C.V. (IEnova) are not the same companies as the California utilities, San Diego Gas & Electric Company or Southern California Gas Company, and Sempra Infrastructure, Sempra Infrastructure Partners, Sempra Texas, Sempra Mexico, Sempra Texas Utilities, Oncor and IEnova are not regulated by the CPUC. 

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SOURCE Southern California Gas Company