LOS ANGELES, Feb. 8, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --
SoCalGas Operations Update
SoCalGas continues to make progress on relief well number one,
reaching a measured depth of 8,600 feet. The closer crews get to
the intercept point, the more analysis and precision is required,
so the process necessarily slows down. Multiple ranging runs were
completed this past week to confirm the position and relationship
to the target well. Each of these shorter interval drilling and
ranging runs will enhance certainty in positioning the relief well
with the intercept point. As we've stated previously, we remain on
schedule to stop the leak by late February or sooner. Crews
continue to set up rig equipment on relief well number two.
SoCalGas Extends Time for Relocated Residents to Return
Home
SoCalGas today announced it reached an agreement with
the Los Angeles City Attorney to provide residents who
chose to temporarily relocate as a result of the Aliso Canyon
natural gas leak more time to transition back to their homes. Get
more information here:
https://www.alisoupdates.com/acu-return-home-faq
Evaluation of Health Concerns by Office of Environmental
Health Hazard Assessment
OEHHA has evaluated air sample data collected by SoCalGas at
several locations in the Porter
Ranch neighborhood.
http://oehha.ca.gov/public_info/emergency/alisocanyon.html
"OEHHA's evaluation to date has concluded:
- The symptoms reported by many Porter
Ranch residents can be attributed to odorants in the natural
gas. The natural gas odorants have strong odors which can be
perceived at concentrations below the levels that can be measured
in air samples. These odors can evoke physiological responses
(e.g. nausea, headaches) without inducing more serious or
longer-lasting health effects, such as eye or respiratory system
damage.
- Overall, the available air sample data does not indicate that
an acute health hazard exists from any of the volatile organic
chemicals measured, including benzene, in the Porter Ranch neighborhood as a result of the
Aliso Canyon natural gas leak.
- Current measured exposures to benzene are below the level of
concern for chronic health effects.
- Benzene is a cancer-causing chemical. Any increase in cancer
risk to people in the area due to benzene emissions from the
natural gas leak is likely very small. Nearly all measured benzene
concentrations in the Porter Ranch
community during the leak are similar to background levels
generally found in the Los Angeles
area, including at the nearest long-term monitoring station in
Burbank."
SoCalGas Recognizes the Impact on the Community
SoCalGas is working every day to address concerns of members of
the community, whether they've chosen to take advantage of
temporary housing accommodations or have remained in Porter Ranch. SoCalGas has established
multiple ways to support residents during this unfortunate
situation. We have set up a dedicated website, a Community Resource
Center, and dedicated phone lines for claims or temporary
relocation assistance.
Relocation Updates
As of Feb. 7, 2016, 1,662 (more
than a third) of the residents who chose to relocate have checked
out of their temporary accommodations.
- Households placed: 4,505
- Households in progress: 840
- Households checked out: 1,662
- Air scrubbers installed in homes: 5300
- Weatherization of homes: 5236
- Plug-in air filters delivered to homes: 3,060
- Plug-in air filters delivered to schools: 1,756
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," "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, national and international economic,
competitive, political, legislative and regulatory conditions and
developments; actions and the timing of actions, including
issuances of permits to construct and licenses for operation, by
the California Public Utilities Commission, California State
Legislature, U.S. Department of Energy, Federal Energy Regulatory
Commission, California Energy Commission, U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency, California Air Resources Board, 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; energy markets, including the timing
and extent of changes and volatility in commodity prices, and the
impact of any protracted reduction in oil and natural gas prices
from historical averages; 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; delays in the timing of
costs incurred and the timing of the regulatory agency
authorization to recover such costs in rates from customers;
deviations from regulatory precedent or practice that result in a
reallocation of benefits or burdens among shareholders and
ratepayers; capital markets conditions, including the availability
of credit and the liquidity of our investments; inflation and
interest rates; 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, pipeline explosions and equipment failures; 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, terrorist attacks
that threaten system operations and critical infrastructure, and
wars; weather conditions, conservation efforts, natural disasters,
catastrophic accidents, and other events that may disrupt our
operations, damage our facilities and systems, and subject us to
third-party liability for property damage or personal injuries some
of which may or may not be covered by insurance; risks that our
partners or counterparties will be unable or unwilling to fulfill
their contractual commitments; business, regulatory, environmental
and legal decisions and requirements; 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; the resolution of litigation; 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