Established in San Francisco in 1886 as Pacific Lighting, it recognized Southern California as ripe for growth by the turn of the century. It began to purchase many small gas manufacturing and distribution companies in the area that eventually became the Southern California Gas Company. The growth of Southern California Gas Company since that time has been outstanding. The first few hundred feet of pipeline laid in the old Los Angeles Plaza has expanded to about 45,000 miles of transmission and distribution pipelines providing natural gas service 5 million meters. To serve these customers, SoCalGas has grown from the five original founders to over 7,000 employees.
Natural gas is the cleanest burning fossil fuel available.
The million-mile network of underground pipe that delivers this energy to customers is operated by more than 214,000 men and women working in scores of professional and technical disciplines. With today's emphasis on the environment, we are confident that the Company's products and services are well positioned for strong growth in the future. SoCalGas has become the largest natural gas distribution utility in the country. Combined, SoCalGas fuels about half of all non-transportation energy use in its service area. Including gas transported for customers and direct sale to customers, SoCalGas delivers nearly 1 trillion cubic feet of gas a year, or about 5 percent of all gas delivered in the United States.