SoCalGas Misled Consumers About Natural Gas, Settlement Reached: AG

SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA — Southern California Gas Company (SoCalGas) misled consumers by claiming that natural gas is renewable, according to a now-settled civil complaint announced Monday by California Attorney General Rob Bonta.

An investigation into SoCalGas by the state's top law enforcement agency stemmed from numerous unqualified environmental marketing claims the company made in 2019 that natural gas is renewable.

SoCalGas promoted natural gas as “clean, affordable, renewable,” according to the civil complaint filed Friday by Bonta's office in Alameda County Superior Court.

The vast majority of natural gas — including a majority of the gas distributed by SoCalGas — is not renewable, but rather is derived from fossil fuels, Bonta's office said.

The misleading statements were made in a wide range of mediums, such as print, electronic media, informative displays, backdrops and promotional swag, according to the attorney general's office.

“SoCalGas is a large, sophisticated entity. While we appreciate its cooperation in our investigation, SoCalGas should have known better than to broadcast unqualified claims suggesting that all natural gas is ‘renewable.’ Truth in marketing matters, and it’s required under state law,” Bonta said in a released statement.

According to the complaint, in its own 2018 California Gas Report, SoCalGas acknowledged that “none of the gas supplies purchased by SoCalGas for the core market originate from RNG [renewable natural gas].”

"Indeed, while SoCalGas has set targets for significantly increasing the proportion of RNG — which is derived from the processing of existing waste streams — in its portfolio, RNG currently makes up a small percentage of SoCalGas’s inventory. Thus, the vast majority of SoCalGas’s natural gas is not renewable. Rather, a large percentage of its total throughput is derived from fossil fuels, which is not 'renewable,'" according to the complaint.

Under the settlement agreement between the utility and Bonta's office, allegations that SoCalGas violated California’s consumer protection laws are now resolved, including the Unfair Competition Law and the False Advertising Law. Under the settlement agreement, SoCalGas will:

• Be prohibited from making similar unqualified statements that natural gas is “renewable.”
• Pay $175,000 in penalties, 50% ($87,500) of which will be directed to the California Environmental Protection Agency’s Environmental Justice Small Grants Program to fund a Supplemental Environmental Project (SEP) focused on environmental justice.
• Publish a corrective statement on its website within 14 days of the settlement’s effective date.

The settlement terms remain subject to court approval.

In response to Monday's news, SoCalGas spokesperson Chris Gilbride said the utility is "pleased to have cooperatively resolved this matter. SoCalGas remains committed to delivering increasingly renewable natural gas and other clean fuels to its customers. This is part of our aim to achieve net zero greenhouse gas emissions in our operations and delivery of energy by 2045.”