Southern California Gas Co., a subsidiary of Sempra, gave schools, local governments and other public-sector facilities more than $10 million in no-cost energy efficiency upgrades in 2025 through its Public Direct Install Program, the utility said Aug. 18, 2026. SoCalGas expects an additional $32 million in bill savings over the lifetime of the installed equipment.
The program covers high-efficiency water heating equipment for eligible public agencies, federal facilities and K-12 schools, including tankless water heaters, hot water pipe insulation and tank insulation.
A district case study
The Colton Joint Unified School District has completed more than 150 energy efficiency measures across its facilities over the last three years through the program, including 84 high-efficiency tankless water heaters. The district cut its natural gas consumption by about 20% and saved more than $800,000 through incentives, SoCalGas said. A tankless water heater typically costs $8,000 to $12,000 to install in place of a traditional unit, said Jay Kim, the district's energy programs, grants and sustainability officer. "That's a win-win for the district and the community we serve," Kim said.
Program scope
SoCalGas installed more than 2,000 energy-efficiency measures across 845 projects through the program in 2025. The utility said that work cut energy use by about 16.3 million net therms over the equipment's lifetime, which it estimates is equivalent to a year of energy use for about 11,500 residential homes. The Public Direct Install Program is one of more than 70 energy efficiency programs SoCalGas administers for customers.
We reported last month that Sempra's second-quarter profit jumped to $796 million.
