On the eve of its annual shareholder meeting Tuesday in Newport Beach, CA, Sempra Energy’s General Counsel John Light announced he is retiring effective June 30 as the executive vice president/general counsel for the San Diego-based utility holding company. Light, 62, was a long-time partner in the Los Angeles office of Latham & Watkins for 31 years before accepting the general counsel’s position at the newly formed Sempra Energy in mid-1998. He plans to return to Latham & Watkins’s LA office. Light directed the legal affairs of the newly merged holding companies, Pacific Enterprises and Enova for Southern California Gas Co. and San Diego Gas and Electric Co., respectively, and helped Sempra’s current diversified strategy that includes various merchant operations, in addition to two the state’s major private-sector utilities. Sempra CEO Stephen Baum said Light’s role was “integral in Sempra’s growth and success.”

©Copyright 2003 Intelligence Press Inc. All rights reserved. The preceding news report may not be republished or redistributed, in whole or in part, in any form, without prior written consent of Intelligence Press, Inc.