Benzinga | Sep 27, 2021 04:15PM EDT

Sempra Energy's Southern California Gas Co. Sees Resolving Substantially All Material Civil Litigation Against Co. Related To 2015 Aliso Canyon Nat Gas Storage Facility Leak

Southern California Gas Co. (SoCalGas) today announced agreements that are expected to resolve substantially all material civil litigation against SoCalGas related to the 2015 Aliso Canyon natural gas storage facility leak. As a result of the agreements, SoCalGas will record an after-tax charge of approximately $1.1 billion this month. Settlement costs will not be borne by ratepayers.



The first agreement is subject to obtaining roughly 97% participation among approximately 36,000 individual plaintiffs and court approval of the settlement allocation process, among other conditions. The second and third agreements involve settlement with a class estimated to include at least 23,000 properties and the dismissal of the named plaintiffs in a putative business class action, both of which are subject to court approval.

"These agreements are an important milestone that will help the community and our company work toward putting this difficult chapter behind us," said Scott Drury, CEO of SoCalGas. "In the years since the leak, SoCalGas has worked alongside regulators, technical experts, and our neighbors to enhance safety at all our underground storage facilities and our engagement with the community. As a result, our storage facilities operate by what regulators and experts have called some of the most rigorous safety standards in the country."