Sempra Energy’s Los Angeles-based Southern California Gas Co. (SoCalGas) utility announced Tuesday it is holding more than $20 million for rebates and incentives to business customers for qualifying energy efficiency projects in 2009. It is the largest pool of incentive money in the utility’s history.

SoCalGas passed on this information to more than 300 of its business customers at its fourth annual Energy Efficiency Expo in Downey, CA. Included in the program were panel discussions, including one with customers who have taken advantage of the utility largesse in the past, qualifying for rebates, incentives, free on-site energy efficiency assessments and zero-interest financing programs.

Yushen Xu, president of Tri J Heat Treating Co. in Pomona, CA, told how he saved about $20,000 last year on energy costs “without spending a dime to do it.” Xu reordered his work processes to make better use of his most efficient furnaces, which SoCalGas helped him identify with an on-site consultation.

Another business owner, Jeff Mueller of American Die Casting in Fontana, CA, called his experience “a no-brainer,” in which he received help financing new energy-efficient furnaces through a $50,000 no-interest, no-points, no-fees loan.

SoCalGas Customer Programs Director Mark Gaines said the higher funding levels this year will help the utility benefit both the environment and its customers in a weak economy, no less. “We’re helping to pay for many energy saving projects with low upfront costs and fast paybacks, which can improve profitability for participating customers in a relatively short time.”

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