Sempra Energy was created through the 1998 merger of Los Angeles-based Pacific Enterprises, the parent company of SoCalGas, and Enova Corporation, the parent company of SDG&E. In 1999, the company acquired two utilities in South America; Chilquinta Energia in Chile and Luz Del Sur in Peru, which both gave Sempra Energy a platform for growth in the rapidly0expanding Latin American energy market. In 2003, Sempra Energy Resources, the former power generation subsidiary of Sempra Energy, completed three state-of-the-art power plant projects in Arizona, California and New Mexico to meet the growing energy needs of the Pacific Southwest. Sempra was sued over claims it manipulated natural gas supplies and electricity contracts during the 2001 California electricity crisis. In 2006, the company agreed to pay $377 million to settle gas supply claims, and in 2010, it paid another $410 million to settle claims on electricity price gouging, but has never admitted wrongdoing. In 2007, Sempra created the Sempra Energy Foundation as a 501 private foundation. The foundation matches employee's charitable contributions. In 2018, Sempra Energy Foundation matched $1.2 million. On March 8, 2018, regulators in Texas approved Sempra Energy's purchase of a majority stake in Oncor for $9.45 billion. On January 16, 2019, Sempra Energy was added to the Dow Jones Utility Average, replacing Pacific Gas and Electric. Sempra Energy and Aramco signed a deal to supply LNG for Saudi Arabia in May 2019. In October 2019, Sempra Energy said it would sell its Chilean businesses to China’s State Grid International Development Ltd for $2.23 billion in cash as part of its plan to exit South America and shore up capital.
Operating Companies
Current
Sempra LNG: Sempra LNG develops, builds and invests in liquefied natural gas facilities and natural gas infrastructure in North America. Cameron LNG, a joint-venture LNG facility under construction in Louisiana, is expected to be one of the first U.S. liquefaction-export projects to commence operations in 2019. The company is also developing the proposed Port Arthur LNG liquefaction project in Texas and the proposed liquefaction-export facilities at the Energia Costa Azul receipt terminal in Ensenada, Mexico.
Southern California Gas Company: SoCalGas, based in Los Angeles, is the largest natural gas distribution utility in the U.S., providing natural gas service to approximately 21.9 million consumers.
IEnova: IEnova develops, builds and operates energy infrastructure in Mexico, and is one of the largest private energy companies in the country.
San Diego Gas & Electric: SDG&E is an electric and natural gas utility that provides energy to approximately 3.7 million consumers in San Diego and southern Orange Counties.
Oncor Electric Delivery Company LLC: Oncor, based in Dallas, operates the largest distribution and transmission system in the state, providing service to approximately 10 million Texans. Sempra Energy indirectly owns approximately 80 percent of Oncor. In May 2019, Oncor completed the acquisition of InfraREIT, an electricity transmission company in Central, North and West Texas.
Sempra Energy also operates electric utilities in Chile and Peru.
Former
The following subsidiaries have been reformed into Sempra LNG & Midstream and Sempra Renewables:
Sempra U.S. Gas & Power: Sempra U.S. Gas & Power develops clean power solutions in markets throughout the U.S. with a focus on zero and low-emission fuels. With its affiliates and joint-venture partners, the company owns and operates more than 2,000 megawatts of renewable generating capacity. Sempra U.S. Gas & Power also operates natural gas storage facilities, pipelines and distribution utilities.
Sempra Generation: Operates or owns interest in power stations in five U.S. states and in Mexico, as well as property for potential solar and wind electric generation.
Sempra Pipelines & Storage: Owns natural gas storage facilities in Alabama and Louisiana and interests in two natural gas companies in Argentina, Chilquinta Energía of Chile, and Luz del Sur of Peru. It also owns 1,858 miles of distribution pipelines, 216 miles of transmission pipelines, and two compressor stations in Mexico.
Sempra LNG: Develops, owns and operates receipt terminals for importing liquefied natural gas to the U.S., including the Energía Costa Azul LNG terminal in Baja California and the Cameron LNG terminal in Hackberry, Louisiana.
Sempra Commodities: Sempra's stake in a partnership formed on April 1, 2008 to market and trade natural gas, natural gas liquids, power, petroleum and petroleum products, coal, emissions, ethanol and base metals. Royal Bank of Scotland Group sold its stake in RBS Sempra Commodities LLC to Noble Americas Gas and Power, as a condition of the UK Government's 74 percent stake in the Group on December 1, 2010.
Awards and recognition
In 2016, Sempra Energy received an award for supporting LGBT equality in the workplace. The company has also been named to a number of stock market indexes focused on sustainability.
