XML 64 R33.htm IDEA: XBRL DOCUMENT v3.25.1
COMMITMENTS, CONTINGENCIES AND GUARANTEES
3 Months Ended
Mar. 31, 2025
Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract]  
COMMITMENTS, CONTINGENCIES AND GUARANTEES COMMITMENTS, CONTINGENCIES AND GUARANTEES
LEGAL PROCEEDINGS
We accrue losses for a legal proceeding when it is probable that a loss has been incurred and the amount of the loss can be reasonably estimated. However, the uncertainties inherent in legal proceedings make it difficult to reasonably estimate the costs and effects of resolving these matters. Accordingly, actual costs incurred may differ materially from amounts accrued, may exceed, and in some cases have exceeded, applicable insurance coverage and could materially adversely affect our business, results of operations, financial condition, cash flows and/or prospects. Unless otherwise indicated, we are unable to reasonably estimate possible losses or a range of losses in excess of any amounts accrued.
At March 31, 2025, loss contingency accruals for legal matters that are probable and estimable were $40 million for Sempra and $26 million for SoCalGas.
SDG&E
City of San Diego Franchise Agreement
In 2021, two lawsuits were filed in the California Superior Court challenging various aspects of the natural gas and electric franchise agreements granted by the City of San Diego to SDG&E. Both lawsuits ultimately sought to void the franchise agreements. In one of the cases, judgment was granted in favor of SDG&E and the City of San Diego. In November 2024, the Court of Appeal affirmed the trial court judgment in favor of SDG&E and the City of San Diego. The plaintiff’s further appeal to the California Supreme Court was denied. In the second case, the court ruled in favor of SDG&E and the City of San Diego, upholding all terms of the franchise agreements, except for the two-thirds City Council vote requirement for termination if the City decides to terminate under certain circumstances. Under the court’s ruling, the City can instead terminate on a majority vote, so long as it satisfies repayment provisions under the franchise agreements. Both sides have appealed the ruling.
SoCalGas
Aliso Canyon Natural Gas Storage Facility Gas Leak
From October 23, 2015 through February 11, 2016, SoCalGas experienced a natural gas leak from one of the injection-and-withdrawal wells, SS25, at its Aliso Canyon natural gas storage facility in Los Angeles County.
In 2022, SoCalGas paid $1.79 billion under a settlement agreement that resolved the lawsuits of over 99% of the approximately 36,000 individual plaintiffs with lawsuits then-pending against SoCalGas and Sempra related to the Leak. The individual plaintiffs who did not participate in the settlement (the Non-Settling Individual Plaintiffs) are able to continue to pursue their claims. As of May 5, 2025, there are approximately 505 plaintiffs, who are either new plaintiffs or Non-Settling Individual Plaintiffs.
The new plaintiffs’ cases and Non-Settling Individual Plaintiffs’ cases are coordinated before a single court in the Los Angeles County Superior Court for pretrial management under a consolidated master complaint filed in November 2017, with one plaintiff’s case proceeding under a separate complaint. Both the consolidated master complaint and the separate complaint assert negligence, negligence per se, strict liability, negligent and intentional infliction of emotional distress and fraudulent concealment. The consolidated master complaint asserts additional causes of action for private and public nuisance (continuing and permanent), trespass, inverse condemnation, loss of consortium and wrongful death against SoCalGas and Sempra. The separate complaint asserts an additional cause of action for assault and battery. Both complaints seek compensatory and punitive damages for personal injuries, lost wages and/or lost profits, costs of future medical monitoring, and attorneys’ fees. The consolidated master complaint also seeks property damage and diminution in property value, injunctive relief and civil penalties.
Other Sempra
Energía Costa Azul
We describe below certain land disputes and permit challenges affecting our ECA Regas Facility. Certain of these land disputes involve land on which portions of the ECA LNG liquefaction facilities under construction and in development are expected to be situated or on which portions of the ECA Regas Facility that would be necessary for the operation of such ECA LNG liquefaction facilities are situated. One or more unfavorable final decisions on these disputes or challenges could materially adversely affect our existing natural gas regasification operations and proposed natural gas liquefaction projects at the site of the ECA Regas Facility and have a material adverse effect on Sempra’s business, results of operations, financial condition, cash flows and/or prospects.
Land Disputes. Sempra Infrastructure has been engaged in a long-running land dispute with a claimant relating to property adjacent to its ECA Regas Facility that allegedly overlaps with land owned by the ECA Regas Facility (the facility, however, is not situated on the land that is the subject of this dispute). The claimant to the adjacent property filed suit to reinitiate an administrative procedure at SEDATU to obtain the property title for the disputed property that had previously been issued in a ruling by the federal Agrarian Court and subsequently reversed by a federal court in Mexico. In April 2021, the proceeding in the Agrarian Court concluded with the court ordering that the administrative procedure be restarted. The administrative procedure at SEDATU may continue if SEDATU decides to reopen the matter.
In addition, a plaintiff filed a claim in the federal Agrarian Court that seeks to annul the property title for a portion of the land on which the ECA Regas Facility is situated and to obtain possession of a different parcel that allegedly overlaps with the site of the ECA Regas Facility. The proceeding, which seeks an order that SEDATU annul the ECA Regas Facility’s competing property title, was initiated in 2006 and, in July 2021, a decision was issued in favor of the ECA Regas Facility. The plaintiff appealed and, in February 2022, the appellate court confirmed the ruling in favor of the ECA Regas Facility and dismissed the appeal. The plaintiff filed a federal appeal against the appellate court ruling. In August 2024, the Federal Collegiate Circuit Court ruled in favor of the ECA Regas Facility. In November 2024, the plaintiff filed an appeal with the Mexican Supreme Court.
Environmental and Social Impact Permits. Several administrative challenges are pending before Mexico’s Secretariat of Environment and Natural Resources (the Mexican environmental protection agency) and Federal Tax and Administrative Courts, seeking revocation of the environmental impact authorization issued to the ECA Regas Facility in 2003. These cases generally allege that the conditions and mitigation measures in the environmental impact authorization are inadequate and challenge findings that the activities of the terminal are consistent with regional development guidelines.
In 2018 and 2021, three related claimants filed separate challenges in the federal district court in Ensenada, Baja California seeking revocation of the environmental and social impact permits issued by each of ASEA and SENER to ECA LNG authorizing natural gas liquefaction activities at the ECA Regas Facility, as follows:
In the first case, the court issued a provisional injunction against the permits in September 2018. In December 2018, ASEA approved modifications to the environmental permit that facilitate the development of the proposed natural gas liquefaction facility in two phases. In May 2019, the court canceled the provisional injunction. The claimant appealed the court’s decision to cancel the injunction but was not successful. The lower court’s ruling was favorable to the ECA Regas Facility, as the court determined that no harm has been caused to the plaintiff and dismissed the lawsuit. The claimant appealed and has petitioned the Mexican Supreme Court to resolve the appeal. The Mexican Supreme Court has yet to determine if it will hear the case.
In the second case, the initial request for a provisional injunction against the permits was denied. That decision was reversed on appeal in January 2020, resulting in the issuance of a new injunction against the permits that were issued by ASEA and SENER. This injunction has uncertain application absent clarification by the court. The claimants petitioned the court to rule that construction of natural gas liquefaction facilities violated the injunction and, in February 2022, the court ruled in favor of the ECA Regas Facility, holding that the natural gas liquefaction construction activities did not violate the injunction. The claimants appealed this ruling but were not successful. The lower court’s ruling was favorable to the ECA Regas Facility, as the court determined that no harm has been caused to the plaintiffs and dismissed the lawsuit. The claimants appealed and have petitioned the Mexican Supreme Court to resolve the appeal. The Mexican Supreme Court has yet to determine if it will hear the case.
In the third case, a group of residents filed a complaint in June 2021 against various federal and state authorities alleging deficiencies in the public consultation process for the issuance of the permits. The request for an initial injunction was denied. The claimants appealed this ruling but were not successful. The lower court’s ruling was favorable to the ECA Regas Facility, as the court determined that no harm has been caused to the plaintiffs and dismissed the lawsuit. The claimants appealed and the appellate court’s ruling is pending.
Port Arthur LNG
TCEQ Permit. The PA LNG Phase 1 project holds two Clean Air Act, Prevention of Significant Deterioration permits issued by the TCEQ, which we refer to as the “2016 Permit” and the “2022 Permit.” The 2022 Permit also governs emissions for the proposed PA LNG Phase 2 project. In November 2023, a panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit issued a decision to vacate and remand the 2022 Permit to the TCEQ for additional explanation of the agency’s permit decision. In February 2024, the court withdrew its opinion and referred the case to the Supreme Court of Texas to resolve the question of the appropriate standard to be applied by the TCEQ. In February 2025, the Supreme Court of Texas adopted Port Arthur LNG’s interpretation of the standard. Port Arthur LNG continues to litigate this matter before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, which will apply the standard adopted by the Supreme Court of Texas. The 2022 Permit is effective during the pending litigation. The 2016 Permit was not the subject of, and is unaffected by, the pending litigation of the 2022 Permit. Construction of the PA LNG Phase 1 project is proceeding uninterrupted under existing permits, and we do not currently anticipate the pending litigation to materially impact the PA LNG Phase 1 project cost, schedule or expected commercial operations at this stage.
three amparo lawsuits challenging the 2021 amendments to the LIE. The first lawsuit addressed the provision allowing revocation of self-supply permits, which lawsuit the Second Collegiate Court definitively dismissed in July 2024. The second lawsuit impacted generation permits for certain Sempra Infrastructure facilities, which lawsuit the Second Chamber of the Mexican Supreme Court definitively dismissed in February 2025. The third lawsuit relating to the 2021 amendments to the LIE impacts Sempra Infrastructure’s power marketing business, which remains pending, but will likely be dismissed given the repeal of the LIE.
Ordinary Course Litigation
We are also defendants in ordinary routine litigation incidental to our businesses, including personal injury, employment litigation, product liability, property damage and other claims. Juries have demonstrated an increasing willingness to grant large awards, including punitive damages, in these types of cases.
LEASES
We discuss leases further in Note 15 of the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements in the Annual Report.
Lessee Accounting
We have operating and finance leases for real and personal property (including office space, land, fleet vehicles, aircraft, tugboats, machinery and equipment, warehouses and other operational facilities) and PPAs with renewable energy, energy storage and peaker plant facilities.
Leases That Have Not Yet Commenced
Since December 31, 2024, SDG&E has adjusted the expected commencement dates of four PPAs to: two commencing in 2025, one commencing in 2026 and one commencing in 2028. SDG&E expects the future minimum lease payments to be $12 million in 2025, $36 million in each of 2026 and 2027, $41 million in 2028, $43 million in 2029 and $477 million thereafter (through expiration in 2043).
Lessor Accounting
Sempra Infrastructure is a lessor for certain of its natural gas and ethane pipelines, compressor stations, liquid petroleum gas storage facilities, a rail facility and refined products terminals, which we account for as operating or sales-type leases.
We provide information below for leases for which we are the lessor.
LESSOR INFORMATION ON THE CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS
(Dollars in millions)
Three months ended March 31,
20252024
Sempra – Sales-type leases:
Interest income$$
Total revenues from sales-type leases(1)
$$
Sempra – Operating leases:
Fixed lease payments$86 $89 
Variable lease payments10 
Total revenues from operating leases(1)
$91 $99 
Depreciation expense$18 $18 
(1)    Included in Revenues: Energy-Related Businesses on the Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations.
CONTRACTUAL COMMITMENTS
We discuss below significant changes in the first three months of 2025 to contractual commitments discussed in Note 15 of the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements in the Annual Report.
LNG Purchase Agreement
Sempra Infrastructure has an SPA for the supply of LNG to the ECA Regas Facility. The commitment amount is calculated using a predetermined formula based on estimated forward prices of the index applicable from 2025 through 2029. Although this agreement specifies a number of cargoes to be delivered, under its terms, the supplier may divert certain cargoes, which would reduce amounts paid under the agreement by Sempra Infrastructure. At March 31, 2025, we expect the commitment amount to decrease by $53 million in 2025, increase by $1 million in 2026, and decrease by $82 million in 2027, $105 million in 2028, and $58 million in 2029 compared to December 31, 2024, reflecting changes in estimated forward prices since December 31, 2024 and actual transactions for the first three months of 2025. These LNG commitment amounts are based on the assumption that all LNG cargoes under the agreement are delivered, less those already confirmed to be diverted as of March 31, 2025. Actual LNG purchases in the current and prior years have been significantly lower than the maximum amount provided under the agreement due to the supplier electing to divert cargoes as allowed by the agreement.
ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES
We disclose any proceeding under environmental laws to which a government authority is a party when the potential monetary sanctions, exclusive of interest and costs, exceed the lesser of $1 million or 1% of current assets, which was $57 million for Sempra, $20 million for SDG&E and $17 million for SoCalGas at March 31, 2025.
SEMPRA GUARANTEES
Sempra Promissory Note for SDSRA Distribution
Cameron LNG JV’s debt agreements require Cameron LNG JV to maintain the SDSRA, which is an additional reserve account beyond the Senior Debt Service Accrual Account, where funds accumulate from operations to satisfy senior debt obligations due and payable on the next payment date. Both accounts can be funded with cash or authorized investments. In June 2021, Sempra Infrastructure received a distribution of $165 million based on its proportionate share of the SDSRA, for which Sempra provided a promissory note and letters of credit to secure a proportionate share of Cameron LNG JV’s obligation to fund the SDSRA. Sempra’s maximum exposure to loss is replenishment of the amount withdrawn by Sempra Infrastructure from the SDSRA, or $165 million. We recorded a guarantee liability of $22 million in June 2021, with an associated carrying value of $18 million at March 31, 2025, for the fair value of the promissory note, which is being reduced over the duration of the guarantee through Sempra Infrastructure’s investment in Cameron LNG JV. The guarantee will terminate upon full repayment of Cameron LNG JV’s debt, scheduled to occur in 2039, or replenishment of the amount withdrawn by Sempra Infrastructure from the SDSRA.
Sempra Support Agreement for CFIN
In July 2020, CFIN entered into a financing arrangement with Cameron LNG JV’s four project owners and received aggregate proceeds of $1.5 billion from two project owners and from external lenders on behalf of the other two project owners (collectively, the affiliate loans), based on their proportionate ownership interest in Cameron LNG JV. CFIN used the proceeds from the affiliate loans to provide a loan to Cameron LNG JV. The affiliate loans mature in 2039. Principal and interest are paid from Cameron LNG JV’s project cash flows from its three-train natural gas liquefaction facility. Cameron LNG JV used the proceeds from its loan to return equity to its project owners.
Sempra Infrastructure’s $753 million proportionate share of the affiliate loans, based on SI Partners’ 50.2% ownership interest in Cameron LNG JV, was funded by external lenders comprised of a syndicate of banks (the bank debt) to whom Sempra has provided a guarantee pursuant to a Support Agreement under which:
Sempra has severally guaranteed repayment of the bank debt plus accrued and unpaid interest if CFIN fails to pay the external lenders;
the external lenders may exercise an option to put the bank debt to Sempra Infrastructure upon the occurrence of certain events, including a failure by CFIN to meet its payment obligations under the bank debt;
on March 28, 2028, March 28, 2030 and March 28, 2035, the agent for the external lenders, on behalf of such external lenders, is obligated to put all of the then outstanding bank debt to Sempra Infrastructure, except to the extent any external lender elects not to participate in the put three months prior to the applicable put exercise date;
Sempra Infrastructure also has a right to call the bank debt back from, or to refinance the bank debt with, the external lenders at any time; and
the Support Agreement will terminate upon full repayment of the bank debt, including repayment following an event in which the bank debt is put to Sempra Infrastructure.
In exchange for this guarantee, the external lenders pay a guarantee fee that is based on the credit rating of Sempra’s long-term senior unsecured non-credit enhanced debt rating, which guarantee fee Sempra Infrastructure recognizes as interest income as earned. Sempra’s maximum exposure to loss is the bank debt plus any accrued and unpaid interest and related fees, subject to a liability cap of 130% of the bank debt, or $979 million. We measure the Support Agreement at fair value, net of related guarantee fees, on a recurring basis (see Note 9). At March 31, 2025, the fair value of the Support Agreement was $38 million, of which $8 million is included in Other Current Assets and $30 million is included in Other Long-Term Assets on Sempra’s Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheet.
SI Partners Credit Support Agreement
See discussion in Note 1 regarding SI Partners’ guarantee to a third-party financial institution.