The country’s largest natural gas distribution company recently earned a top private fleet award at North America’s biggest advanced transportation and clean fleet gathering.
Southern California Gas Company (SoCalGas), reportedly delivers natural gas to 21.8 million customers across 24,000 square miles of California. Upwards of 90 percent of Central and Southern California residents rely on natural gas for hot water, heat, and other necessities. The organization’s pipelines also play a vital role in powering the state’s electrical grid. And with more than 250 nominees considered across a wide range of categories at the 2022 Advanced Clean Transportation Expo, SoCalGas got the nod for the “Leading Private Fleet Award.”
“This is exciting news for SoCalGas as we continue to make strides to decarbonize one of the hardest to abate sectors of the economy,” Jawaad Malik, vice president of strategy and sustainability, reportedly said. “We continue to invest in a diverse set of innovative and advanced fleet technology such as hydrogen fuel cell, electric, and renewable natural gas-powered vehicles. Adopting new, cleaner technologies and leading the fleet industry with our closed-loop recycling program will help SoCalGas and California reach our shared climate and air quality goals.”
The company garnered attention after moving forward with efforts to replace half of its OTR fleet with sustainable vehicles by 2025. SoCalGas announced an initiative in March to construct 1,500 electric vehicle charging stations across 67 locations by December 2023. The organization recently made strategic purchases of Ford F-150 Lightning electric trucks and E-Transit electric vans that would use the charging stations.
In 2021, SoCalGas retrofitted 200 Ford F-250 pickup trucks to run on renewable natural gas and installed the latest Landi Renzo Eco Read equipment, a California Air Resource Board certified ultra-low emissions system. The massive natural gas distributor also reportedly bought 50 Toyota Mirai hydrogen fuel cell vehicles, positioning the company among the country’s first to start pivoting toward hydrogen-powered vehicles. Other 2022 Advanced Clean Transportation Expo award winners included the following.
- In It for the Long Haul: Schwan’s Home Delivery
- Leading Carrier: Dependable Supply Chain Services
- Leading Public Fleet: Sacramento County
- Transit & Mobility: Orange County Transit Authority
- Leading Airport Fleet: Denver International Airport
- Leading Off-Road Fleet: SSA Marine
- Leading School Fleet: Twin River Unified School District
Other finalists for the “Leading Private Fleet Award” included Genentech, Iron Mountain, McAbee Trucking Incorporated, Sysco, and United Natural Foods Incorporated. SoCalGas operates a fleet that exceeds 5,000 light, medium, and heavy-duty commercial vehicles.
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