Sempra's SoCalGas spotlights fuel-flexible microgrids, CHP for agricultural resilience at World Ag Expo

Fuel-flexible microgrids headline Sempra unit’s World Ag Expo presence

Sempra Energy’s Southern California Gas Co. is using the World Ag Expo to spotlight microgrid and combined heat and power (CHP) systems it is developing with BSD Builders, underscoring a push for local energy resilience in agricultural regions. The companies are working on 10 active projects that provide continuous on-site power generation with heat recovery, designed to keep critical facilities operating during wider grid disruptions. SoCalGas frames the systems as fuel‑flexible, able to run on conventional natural gas, renewable natural gas or hydrogen, which officials say helps align deployments with California’s evolving reliability and decarbonization policies.

SoCalGas positions the microgrids and CHP units as solutions for healthcare, agriculture and food‑processing customers that require uninterrupted power and thermal outputs for operations. BSD Builders, a San Diego prime power specialist, describes the approach as cost‑effective and dependable for hospitals, cold storage and processing plants that face revenue and safety risks from outages. The systems’ heat‑recovery capability is highlighted as an efficiency gain that reduces overall fuel use while supporting onsite resiliency needs, enabling facilities to maintain services even when the wider grid is constrained.

Company officials at the expo emphasize collaboration with local partners and regulators as critical to scaling the projects while meeting community needs and state reliability goals. SoCalGas presents the developments as part of a broader strategy to offer transitional technologies that can operate on low‑carbon fuels as they become available, helping customers manage both reliability and emissions objectives. The exhibition gives utility engineers and customers a venue to discuss siting, integration with existing infrastructure, and potential incentives or permitting considerations for deploying microgrids and CHP in rural and industrial settings.

Onsite outreach focuses on safety, affordability and customer assistance

At its booth on the corner of “H” and Median Street, SoCalGas is also informing San Joaquin Valley customers about bill assistance programs, energy‑efficiency rebates, pipeline safety and the importance of calling 811 before digging. The company’s community engagement vice president says face‑to‑face interactions let staff answer questions about enrollment eligibility, estimated savings from upgrades and safety protocols, and distribute printed materials and digital resources directing visitors to socalgas.com.

SoCalGas notes it has attended every World Ag Expo since 1968, making it one of the event’s longest‑standing exhibitors, a presence the International Agri‑Center CEO praises as valuable to the region’s growers and processors. The utility stresses that local partnerships help expand program reach and improve regional energy resilience as it advances the microgrid and CHP projects.