About the Pilot Program

• How was I selected to be in the Home Energy Reports program? You are among a group of 30,000 randomly selected Southern California Gas Company customers in the cities of Palm Desert, Palm Springs, Rancho Mirage and Cathedral City who are receiving these reports as part of a pilot program.
• What if I am not interested in participating? The Home Energy Report is provided to you free of charge. We hope you find the Report to be a useful tool to help you to save money and energy. If you are not interested in participating in the program, please call 1-800 427-4400, press "0" to speak with a Customer Service Representative and ask to be removed from the program.
• Is my community involved in this program? If you live in the City of Palm Desert, you may be interested to know that the City is part of an innovative partnership with Southern California Gas Company, Southern California Edison and The Energy Coalition. This partnership is called "Set to Save," and the Home Energy Reports are one part of this initiative. If you live in the City of Palm Desert, please visit www.settosave.com for more information on the Set to Save program.
• Who is sponsoring the program? Southern California Gas Company is sponsoring the program for all participants. For those in the City of Palm Desert, the program is being co-sponsored by the Palm Desert Partnership and Set to Save.
• Is there a cost to receive this report? No, Southern California Gas Company is providing this information to you at no charge.
• Will my Home Energy Report arrive with my natural gas bill? No, the Home Energy Report is sent separately. Watch for it in your mail.
• How is the Home Energy Report different from my natural gas bill? Your bill simply tells you how much natural gas you have used and at what cost. The Home Energy Report provides additional information for you, including putting your home's energy usage in the context of nearby homes and offering tips on how to save energy and money.

About the Neighbors in the Home Energy Report

• How did you choose the homes used in my neighborhood comparisons? We've chosen specific homes that are nearby and have characteristics that typically lead to similar energy needs such as home size and heating source. We only include homes that appear to be occupied at the time of the comparison.
• Do the neighbor comparisons include seasonal residents? Given that there are many seasonal residents in Southern California Gas Company's territory, we exclude homes that appear to be empty based on low energy usage at that time.
• Are you comparing my usage to vacant homes? No. We do not include homes that appear to be empty based on low energy usage during the given period.
• What if there are good reasons that my household uses more energy than my neighbors? Our comparison includes 100 similar, nearby, occupied homes, so that the average is a good indication of typical usage. At this time we are not able to consider all household factors that can lead to different energy usage, such as number of occupants or hours spent in the home. If you know that your household has such reasons for using more energy, you might decide that the average is not a reasonable target. At the same time, we hope the Reports can help expand your information and choices to reduce energy without sacrificing comfort.
• I have a natural gas pool heater or other special device that uses a lot of natural gas. So what can I learn from the neighbor comparison? As an educational tool, the Home Energy Reports are designed to show you how much natural gas your home uses in the context of other homes that are similar and nearby. You may already know that there is a particular reason behind why your home uses more energy. In this case, the report will help you see how much more energy your home uses and provide ideas of ways you can reduce your overall usage and the energy bills you pay.
• I have certain life or housing circumstances that prevent me from reducing my energy use. So how can these reports help me? It's understandable that some people may have life or housing circumstances that make it difficult to reduce your home's energy use. We aim to provide a wide range of ideas that can address the various needs of our customers and their homes. We encourage you to check out www.socalgas.com. If you or someone in your home has a certain medical condition that requires additional natural gas, you may qualify for additional gas at the lowest rate. Or if you meet certain income requirements, you may qualify for free energy-saving home improvements. Visit www.socalgas.com/assistance or for more energy-saving tips, www.socalgas.com/residential/conservation. In some cases, you may not be able to realize substantial savings, but we've found that most people can realize at least some savings and we hope we can help you do so.
• I've tried a lot and can't seem to reduce my home's natural gas use any further. What can I do next? Check out our website at www.socalgas.com/energyefficiency for more ideas.

How the Home Energy Report Works

• What is in the report? Home Energy Reports are designed to provide new information to help you understand your home's energy usage and find smart ways to make your home more efficient. Each report will provide you with new information including:
  • INFORMATION ON YOUR HOME'S ENERGY USE: For the first time, you'll be able to see your home's energy use in the context of the energy use of your neighbors' homes that are similar in size.
  • PROGRESS TRACKING: You'll also see how your home's energy use changes over time and across seasons.
  • IDEAS ON ENERGY EFFICIENCY: On each report, you can find tips chosen for your home based on the time of year, your home's energy use and the characteristics of your home.
• How do you calculate the cost or savings in the report? The 12 month cost or savings is approximately how much more or less you will pay for natural gas if your natural gas use and patterns change to match that of your neighbors. The calculations are made using estimated natural gas costs.
• How do I interpret the graphs in the report?
  • Front Page: Each graph shows your energy use (gray bar/line), the average use of all selected neighbors (blue bar/line), and the average use of the most efficient neighbors (green bar/line). You can see if your energy use is more or less than your neighbors' energy use for the current period, and also for the last 12 months.
  • Back Page: Bars compare total energy use for the year to-date versus the same period last year.
• How do you choose the action steps for me? Each month we provide you with personalized tips that we expect will be useful based on your energy use pattern, information about your home and the time of year. Some may be actions you have already taken, but we will share many new tips throughout the year so you'll have many opportunities to learn and save. For more ideas, please visit www.socalgas.com.
• How can I measure my progress? The Home Energy Report you receive in the mail can help you keep track of your progress — by comparing your energy use over time.
• Is my report available electronically? We are in the pilot phase of the program. Right now, reports are only available in printed format.
• Who else can see my personal data, such as usage and other information? We value your privacy. Rest assured, no personal information is shared. Only you can see your personal data. For details on our privacy policy, visit www.socalgas.com/privacy.
• Will I continue receiving the Home Energy Report if I move within Southern California Gas Company's service area? Right now the Home Energy Report program is in a pilot phase, and households are randomly selected to participate. In this context, we cannot continue sending you the reports if you move to a different home within our service area at this time. If you find the reports useful and plan to move, please let us know of your interest in the reports -- it is always helpful to hear feedback on a pilot program.
• What if I have other questions about the report? Visit our website at www.socalgas.com for more information. You can also call us at 1-800-427-4400 (press "0" to speak with a Customer Service Representative).

About Your Usage

• How can I reduce energy use in my home? The action steps on the second page of the report are designed to provide ideas on how to reduce natural gas use in your home. You can find more information on saving energy and money at www.socalgas.com or, for Palm Desert residents, www.settosave.com.
• What is consuming the most natural gas in my home? Typically the largest use of natural gas in our area is for heating. Other heavy energy users may be your water heater (if it is powered by natural gas), your dryer (if it is powered by natural gas) and other appliances that use hot water (e.g. washer and dishwasher).
• Why did my natural gas use go up/down compared to last year or the last period? There are many factors that influence natural gas use, including:
  • Type of appliances in your home (e.g., age, condition and model)
  • Your behavior and the behavior or your other household members (e.g., how often you use heating system, water heater, appliances and other devices powered by natural gas in your home)
  • Number of household members in your home
  • Weather
• If I'm trying to target and reduce natural gas use in my home, what should I focus on? Natural gas may be used to fuel some or all of the following:
  • Heater (e.g. furnace)
  • Water heater (and appliances that use hot water, such as clothes washer and dishwasher)
  • Stove, indoor grill and/or oven
  • Fireplace
  • Outdoor grill
  • Clothes dryer
• How do I know what kind of heating system I have? Many homes have a furnace or a heat pump, but there are other types of heating systems, too. Consult the U.S. Department of Energy to learn about types of heating systems and consult diagrams to learn more about your heating system.
• How do I know the age and type of appliance I have? Consult the appliance manual or the label on the appliance itself.
• How do I know the relative efficiency of my current gas-powered appliance, device or other household item compared to other products available on the market? Generally speaking, older items are less energy-efficient than newer items. So if you know the age of your household item, that information can be a great starting point to get a general sense of its efficiency. You can also consult the owner's manual for the item for more specific information. The manual will usually describe the energy usage of your unit in terms of therms or BTUs. If you don't have the owner's manual, it may be available online or by calling the manufacturer. The U.S. Department of Energy provides guidance on how to learn about the efficiency of a particular product and how best to choose various household items. For items for which ENERGY STAR© is available, you can usually look up and compare specific models at www.energystar.gov. Otherwise, consult the owner's manual or product label information for the model you think is more efficient and compare it against what you already own.
  
  The U.S. Department of Energy provides guidance on how to learn about the efficiency of a particular product and how best to choose various household items. For items for which ENERGY STAR® is available, you can usually look up and compare specific models at www.energystar.gov. Otherwise, consult the owner's manual or product label information for the model you think is more efficient and compare it against what you already own.
• What is a therm? A therm is a standard unit of measuring heat energy.

• This report and the energy efficiency programs promoted herein are funded by California utility customers and administered by Southern California Gas Company under the auspices of the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC). This report is administered by Southern California Gas Company as a service to its customers pursuant to a contract awarded to OPOWER, Inc. No warranties are made with respect to any information contained herein. Customers who participate in energy efficiency programs are not obligated to purchase any additional services offered by such program's contractor. Terms and conditions may apply and will vary according to the program offered. Programs, rebates and incentives are subject to change or termination without notice. The Palm Desert Energy Partnership is funded by California utility customers and administered by Southern California Edison and Southern California Gas Company under the auspices of the California Public Utilities Commission. © 2009 OPOWER. All rights reserved. The trademarks herein are the property of their respective owners.