Boyle Heights Solis S.T.E.M. Magnet High School's First All-Girls Team Competes on International Stage at the Horizon Hydrogen Grand Prix World Finals

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LOS ANGELES, Sept. 10, 2024/PRNewswire / -- Southern California Gas Co. (SoCalGas) announced that the Boyle Heights Solis S.T.E.M. Magnet High School will compete tomorrow against teams representing 14 countries at the Hydrogen Grand Prix World Finals in Anaheim, California, taking place September 9 to 12. Sponsored by SoCalGas, the all-girls team, Las STEMateras, built a hydrogen fuel cell, remote-control race car that will compete in a six-hour race. This competition gives students the opportunity to use their knowledge of clean energy and apply their skills to hands-on projects.

This is the Boyle Heights Solis S.T.E.M. Magnet High School second trip to the world finals. In 2023, the Los STEMateros team participated in the Hydrogen Grand Prix World Finals in Las Vegas. The Hydrogen Grand Prix (H2GP) challenges tomorrow's innovators to design, engineer, build and race their own hydrogen-powered cars.

"We are so proud of the Boyle Heights Hilda Solis HS team for earning a spot to compete on an international stage," LAUSD Board Member Dr. Rocío Rivas said. "Their families and school communities will be rooting for them at every turn because of the teamwork, grit, and innovation. Let's go!!!"

Despite making up 47% of the national workforce, women only make up about 32% of the renewable energy workforce, according to Save on Energy. Opportunities like H2GP are important for providing accessible opportunities to all students pursuing careers in clean energy.

"Being able to work together with SoCalGas to provide these experiences to our youth in underrepresented communities is what drives my enthusiasm and allows me to enjoy the work that I do. The exposure to real world applications of topics that my students are learning in class is important for them to be able to gain the confidence to pursue careers in the stem fields where we are underrepresented," said Israel Hernandez, teacher coach of Las STEMateras.

H2GP's S.T.E.M curriculum exposes students to skills that are essential for California'senergy transition. With SoCalGas' H2 Innovation Experience in Downey, and the recently revamped SoCalGas storefront at Junior Achievement of Southern California(JASoCal) JA Finance Park, SoCalGas provides practical, hands-on experience for students to learn meaningful lessons in sustainability and career exploration in S.T.E.M. fields.

SoCalGas is committed to supporting the communities it serves, working to provide equitable opportunities while taking tangible steps towards a carbon neutral future. By providing support and resources for students towards higher education and career development, SoCalGas aspires to empower communities and help young leaders for success.

Under the ASPIRE 2045 Sustainability Strategy, SoCalGas plans to invest $50 million over five years into communities the company serves, working to advance racial and gender diversity in the workplace and taking tangible steps towards a carbon neutral future. By providing resources for higher education and career development, SoCalGas aspires to empower communities and help prepare young leaders for success.

About SoCalGas

SoCalGas is the largest gas distribution utility in the United Statesserving approximately 21 million consumers across approximately 24,000 square miles of Central and Southern California. SoCalGas' mission is to build the cleanest, safest, most innovative energy infrastructure company in America. SoCalGas aims to deliver affordable, reliable, and increasingly renewable gas service through its pipelines to help advance California'sclean energy transition by supporting energy system reliability and resiliency and enabling the integration of renewable resources. SoCalGas is a recognized leader in its industry and community, as demonstrated by being named one of Reuters' Top 100 Innovators Leading the Global Energy Transition and Corporate Member of the Year by the Los AngelesChamber of Commerce. SoCalGas is a subsidiary of Sempra (NYSE: SRE), a leading North American energy infrastructure company. For more information, visit newsroom.SoCalGas.com or connect with SoCalGas on social media @SoCalGas. 

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements are based on assumptions about the future, involve risks and uncertainties, and are not guarantees. Future results may differ materially from those expressed or implied in any forward-looking statement. These forward-looking statements represent our estimates and assumptions only as of the date of this press release. We assume no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statement as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. 

In this press release, forward-looking statements can be identified by words such as "believe," "expect," "intend," "anticipate," "contemplate," "plan," "estimate," "project," "forecast," "envision," "should," "could," "would," "will," "confident," "may," "can," "potential," "possible," "proposed," "in process," "construct," "develop," "opportunity," "preliminary," "initiative," "target," "outlook," "optimistic," "poised," "positioned," "maintain," "continue," "progress," "advance," "goal," "aim," "commit," or similar expressions, or when we discuss our guidance, priorities, strategy, goals, vision, mission, opportunities, projections, intentions or expectations. 

Factors, among others, that could cause actual results and events to differ materially from those expressed or implied in any forward-looking statement include: decisions, investigations, inquiries, regulations, denials or revocations of permits, consents, approvals or other authorizations, renewals of franchises, and other actions, including the failure to honor contracts and commitments, by the (i) California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC), U.S. Department of Energy, U.S. Internal Revenue Service and other regulatory bodies and (ii) U.S. and states, counties, cities and other jurisdictions therein where we do business; the success of business development efforts and construction projects, including risks related to (i) completing construction projects or other transactions on schedule and budget, (ii) realizing anticipated benefits from any of these efforts if completed, (iii) obtaining third-party consents and approvals and (iv) third parties honoring their contracts and commitments; macroeconomic trends or other factors that could change our capital expenditure plans and their potential impact on rate base or other growth; litigation, arbitrations and other proceedings, and changes to laws and regulations, including those related to tax and trade policy; cybersecurity threats, including by state and state-sponsored actors, of ransomware or other attacks on our systems or the systems of third parties with which we conduct business, including the energy grid or other energy infrastructure; the availability, uses, sufficiency, and cost of capital resources and our ability to borrow money on favorable terms and meet our obligations, including due to (i) actions by credit rating agencies to downgrade our credit ratings or place those ratings on negative outlook, (ii) instability in the capital markets, or (iii) rising interest rates and inflation; the impact on affordability of our customer rates and our cost of capital and on our ability to pass through higher costs to customers due to (i) volatility in inflation, interest rates and commodity prices and (ii) the cost of meeting the demand for lower carbon and reliable energy in California; the impact of climate and sustainability policies, laws, rules, regulations, trends and required disclosures, including actions to reduce or eliminate reliance on natural gas, increased uncertainty in the political or regulatory environment for Californianatural gas distribution companies, the risk of nonrecovery for stranded assets, and uncertainty related to emerging technologies; weather, natural disasters, pandemics, accidents, equipment failures, explosions, terrorism, information system outages or other events, such as work stoppages, that disrupt our operations, damage our facilities or systems, cause the release of harmful materials or fires or subject us to liability for damages, fines and penalties, some of which may not be recoverable through regulatory mechanisms or insurance or may impact our ability to obtain satisfactory levels of affordable insurance; the availability of natural gas and natural gas storage capacity, including disruptions caused by failures in the pipeline system or limitations on the withdrawal of natural gas from storage facilities; and other uncertainties, some of which are difficult to predict and beyond our control. 

These risks and uncertainties are further discussed in the reports that the company has filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). These reports are available through the EDGAR system free-of-charge on the SEC's website, www.sec.gov, and on Sempra's website, www.sempra.com. Investors should not rely unduly on any forward-looking statements. 

Sempra Infrastructure, Sempra Infrastructure Partners, Sempra Texas, Sempra Texas Utilities, Oncor Electric Delivery Company LLC (Oncor) and Infraestructura Energética Nova, S.A.P.I. de C.V. (IEnova) are not the same companies as the California utilities, San Diego Gas & Electric Company or Southern California Gas Company, and Sempra Infrastructure, Sempra Infrastructure Partners, Sempra Texas, Sempra Texas Utilities, Oncor and IEnova are not regulated by the CPUC. 

SOURCE Southern California Gas Company