LOS ANGELES – Southern California Gas Company (SoCalGas) filed an application on December 20, 2024, with the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) to advance Angeles Link, a proposed pipeline system for transporting clean renewable hydrogen at scale, to Phase 2. After completing feasibility-level studies in Phase 1, SoCalGas is requesting an approved budget to complete Phase 2, where SoCalGas will identify a preferred system route, conduct additional engineering and environmental analysis, and expand stakeholder and community engagement activities.

Angeles Link is envisioned as an open-access pipeline system dedicated to public use, transporting clean renewable hydrogen from regional third-party production and storage sites to end users across Central and Southern California, including the Los Angeles Basin and the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach. Clean renewable hydrogen is recognized by California as playing a potentially critical role in achieving California’s net zero carbon goals, particularly for decarbonizing the hard-to-electrify sectors including medium and heavy-duty transportation, power generation, and industrial sectors.

The Phase 2 application follows the completion of Phase 1’s over a dozen feasibility studies, which we believe demonstrate Angeles Link is viable, cost-effective, technically feasible and can be designed and implemented safely. In Phase 1, SoCalGas sought and received input from a broad group of stakeholders with diverse interests, including representation from labor, ratepayer advocates, industry experts, environmental and social justice organizations, government agencies and other community-based organizations. To that end, over the last two years, SoCalGas held numerous Phase 1 meetings with stakeholders in a robust, transparent process.

“SoCalGas's commitment to engaging grassroots organizations in the Angeles Link planning process and promoting workforce development, with the potential to create thousands of jobs, sets a strong example for future clean energy initiatives,” said Enrique Aranda, director of housing and economic development at Soledad Enrichment Action. “We are grateful for the opportunity to have been part of the Phase 1 stakeholder engagement process and that SoCalGas incorporated our feedback into the project’s development, a crucial step towards ensuring our communities of color are heard and included.”

“We have participated in a dozen community-based stakeholder group meetings SoCalGas has organized and feel that our contributions have been both valued, impactful, and incorporated into Angeles Link’s development,” said Michael Berns, program and project director at California Greenworks. “It is commendable that such a large utility has taken significant steps to engage grassroots organizations like ours, which represent those most vulnerable to climate change.”

“We want to thank SoCalGas for taking environmental social justice seriously and giving communities and organizations like ours, the opportunity to be seen, heard, and respected by all who have come to the community’s table on this matter,” said Raul Claros, co-founder at Reimagine LA Foundation. “Together, we have made tremendous strides and progress in advancing a stakeholder engagement process that includes the voices of our communities of color.”

As summarized in the Consolidated Report, the Phase 1 studies show that Angeles Link could offer significant benefits to ratepayers and the public including reduced greenhouse gas emissions, improved air quality and public health benefits, and a more reliable and resilient electric grid. It could reduce greenhouse gas emissions by up to 9 million metric tons per year by 2045, which is equivalent to removing about one million gasoline vehicles from the road each year. It could help reduce up to 5,200 tons of smog-forming NOx emissions per year by 2045, thereby promoting improved regional air quality, quality of life, and potential healthcare savings. The construction of Angeles Link could create up to 75,000 new jobs, when considering direct, indirect, and induced jobs. Advancing Angeles Link today could help meet California’s imperative to reduce the use of fossil fuels in the future by providing a cost-effective decarbonization pathway that supports clean, dispatchable power and energy system reliability and resiliency.

“California is in the midst of a profound energy transformation that calls for reducing carbon emissions from hard-to-electrify sectors and bolstering the reliability and resiliency of the electric grid as demand for electricity increases. If approved, Angeles Link could help achieve these goals,” said Neil Navin, senior vice president of engineering, major projects and chief clean fuels officer at SoCalGas. “We believe Angeles Link would offer many benefits to SoCalGas ratepayers and the communities we serve while also supporting California’s clean energy goals.”

In July 2024, the Alliance for Renewable Clean Hydrogen Energy Systems (ARCHES), signed a landmark agreement with the U.S. Department of Energy to build a clean, renewable Hydrogen Hub in California expected to be operational by the end of 2033. Because Angeles Link—as an efficient and reliable solution to delivering large volumes of clean renewable hydrogen—could be instrumental to the success of ARCHES and the State’s clean energy goals, SoCalGas is requesting that the CPUC allow Phase 2 work to commence as quickly as possible.

In Phase 2, SoCalGas plans to expand its stakeholder engagement efforts to meet with and solicit input from a broader range of stakeholders, including community members and from the public. SoCalGas recognizes that conducting a transparent process allows diverse interests to be considered early in the planning process.

Phase 2 of Angeles Link is estimated to cost approximately $266 million and be completed in 30 months, following the CPUC’s decision on the application. In its CPUC application, SoCalGas is requesting rate recovery to fund Phase 2 activities, to be allocated across all customer classes. The average residential customer bill would be expected to increase 35 cents per monthly bill over three years starting in 2026. Incorporating Phase 2 into rates concurrently with the execution of the Phase 2 work could help mitigate potential bill volatility for ratepayers later, saving approximately $30 million in avoided interest costs.

To learn more about SoCalGas's Angeles Link, click here.

This blog post contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements are based on assumptions about 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/presentation/article/report/other name of document]. We assume no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statement as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. 

In this blog post, forward-looking statements can be identified by words such as “believe,” “expect,” “intend,” “anticipate,” “contemplate,” “plan,” “estimate,” “project,” “forecast,” “envision,” “should,” “could,” “would,” “will,” “confident,” “may,” “can,” “potential,” “possible,” “proposed,” “in process,” “construct,” “develop,” “opportunity,” “preliminary,” “initiative,” "target," "outlook," “optimistic,” “poised,” “positioned,” “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: decisions, audits, investigations, inquiries, regulations, denials or revocations of permits, consents, approvals or other authorizations, renewals of franchises, and other actions, including the failure to honor contracts and commitments, by the (i) California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC), U.S. Department of Energy, U.S. Internal Revenue Service and other regulatory bodies and (ii) U.S. and states, counties, cities and other jurisdictions therein where we do business; the success of business development efforts and construction projects, including risks related to (i) completing construction projects or other transactions on schedule and budget, (ii) realizing anticipated benefits from any of these efforts if completed, (iii) obtaining third-party consents and approvals and (iv) third parties honoring their contracts and commitments; macroeconomic trends or other factors that could change our capital expenditure plans and their potential impact on rate base or other growth; litigation, arbitration and other proceedings, and changes (i) to laws and regulations, including those related to tax and trade policy and (ii) due to the results of elections; 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; the availability, uses, sufficiency, and cost of capital resources and 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, (ii) instability in the capital markets, or (iii) fluctuating interest rates and inflation; 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 meeting the demand for lower carbon and reliable energy in California; the impact of climate policies, laws, rules, regulations, trends and required disclosures, 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 uncertainty related to emerging technologies; weather, natural disasters, pandemics, accidents, equipment failures, explosions, terrorism, information system outages or other events, such as work stoppages, 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 injection and withdrawal of natural gas from storage facilities; 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 Texas Utilities, Oncor and IEnova are not regulated by the CPUC. 

Media Contact: Chris Gilbride

Email: cgilbride@socalgas.com

Phone: (213) 215-3383