Sempra Energy Company

Generating clean electricity that's as cheap as power from fossil fuels is the Holy Grail of green-energy companies. A new solar project powering California homes appears to be closing in on that prize. Sempra Generation, a subsidiary of Sempra Energy in San Diego, just took the wraps off a 10-megawatt solar farm in Nevada. That's small by industry standards, enough to light just 6,400 homes. But the ramifications are potentially huge.

Sempra Energy, owner of the largest U.S. natural-gas utility, said fourth-quarter profit rose 10% after fuel costs dropped and traders bet correctly on a record drop in oil prices. Net income increased to $319 million, or $1.30 a share, from $289 million, or $1.10, a year earlier, San Diego-based Sempra said. Per-share profit was 38 cents higher than the average of analyst estimates compiled by Bloomberg. Revenue dropped 26% to $2.29 billion, Sempra said. Profit from the company's San Diego Gas & Electric unit jumped 72%, and earnings from wholesale power sales climbed 50% to $60 million on lower tax costs.

Big gains in energy trading and electricity production boosted Sempra Energy's profit by 9.5% in the third quarter, but a weather-related drop in electricity use caused a 91% decline in net income at power merchant Calpine Corp. The stocks of both companies rose in the wake of their earnings reports Thursday. Sempra added 45 cents to close at $35.16 a share and Calpine jumped 34 cents, or 14%, to $2.77.

Generating clean electricity that's as cheap as power from fossil fuels is the Holy Grail of green-energy companies. A new solar project powering California homes appears to be closing in on that prize. Sempra Generation, a subsidiary of Sempra Energy in San Diego, just took the wraps off a 10-megawatt solar farm in Nevada. That's small by industry standards, enough to light just 6,400 homes. But the ramifications are potentially huge.

Sempra Energy just can't seem to get out of the hot seat. First there was the controversial 1998 merger between the parents of San Diego Gas & Electric and Southern California Gas, which created the Sempra Energy holding company and gave it more customers--21 million--than any other utility company in the nation. Now, although the calendar says autumn is less than a week away, warm weather still has Sempra sweating through a summer of electricity discontent.

Occidental Petroleum Corp. said that Sempra Energy, its partner on a power plant under construction in Kern County, cut it out of a $6.6-billion contract to sell power to California. The Elk Hills power plant is the subject of a separate dispute between Sempra and the California Department of Water Resources that surfaced after Occidental filed its complaint. The state agency said Sempra lied about plans to complete the power plant by this year so it would win the 10-year electricity contract.

Mossimo Inc. reported its first quarterly operating profit in two years Thursday, as sales from ongoing operations rose 22%. Factoring in a one-time charge of $6.1 million, the Irvine-based clothing designer remained in the red. Still, Mossimo's improving numbers indicate that its internal reorganization is paying off, Chief Executive Edwin Lewis said in a statement.

A lawsuit filed in Mexico claims Sempra Energy LNG does not own the coastal property where it plans to build a $670-million liquefied natural gas-receiving terminal. A Mexico City businessman argues that he owns the land 14 miles north of Ensenada, Mexico, and that Sempra's actual parcel is three miles south. A judge has ordered a legal notice to be included in Ensenada land records noting that the parcel's ownership is in dispute.

Edison International, PG&E Corp. and Sempra Energy sued Los Angeles and 17 other cities and municipal utilities for $100 million for selling electricity at inflated prices during 2000-01. The public utilities sold power on the wholesale market during California's energy crisis at rates that the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission determined were "unjust, unreasonable, and unlawful," the energy companies said in the Los Angeles Superior Court lawsuit.

San Diego-based Sempra Energy said Monday that it would sell a natural gas storage subsidiary for $250 million to a partnership created by Plains All American Pipeline and billionaire investor Paul Allen's Vulcan Capital. Assets of the business, Energy Center Investments Corp., include 20 billion cubic feet of underground storage in Michigan and a planned complex in Louisiana with capacity of 24 billion cubic feet, the companies said.

Sempra Energy's planned $1.72-billion power line to deliver electricity from renewable sources to Southern California cities was endorsed by the chairman of the state's utility regulator. The recommendation by Public Utilities Commission Chairman Michael Peevey, posted Tuesday on the commission's website, rejects a conclusion last month by an administrative law judge that the project, called Sunrise Powerlink, isn't needed and would add unnecessarily to power bills.

Sempra Energy, owner of the largest U.S. natural-gas utility, said third-quarter profit was little changed as increased earnings from power generation helped offset its reduced stake in a commodities-trading venture with Royal Bank of Scotland Group. Net income rose to $308 million, or $1.24 a share, from $305 million, or $1.15, a year earlier, the San Diego-based company said. Revenue rose 1.1% to $2.69 billion. Net income from power generation soared 62% to $94 million, mostly on the increased value of long-term energy contracts with RBS Sempra Commodities and other parties when adjusted to reflect changing market prices.

Sempra Energy, owner of the largest U.S. natural gas utility, said second-quarter profit fell 12% after the sale of a majority stake in its commodities-trading business to Royal Bank of Scotland Group. Net income fell to $244 million, or 98 cents a share, from $277 million, or $1.05, a year earlier, the San Diego-based company said. The results beat by 8 cents the average analyst estimate compiled by Bloomberg. Sales fell 5.9% to $2.5 billion. Full-year profit will be $3.80 to $4 a share, Sempra said, up from an earlier forecast of $3.65 to $3.85.

Increasing its already substantial bet on natural gas projects, Sempra Energy said Monday that it would pay $510 million for EnergySouth Inc., a gas storage and distribution company based in Mobile, Ala. "These new assets complement our existing operations in the region and position us for future growth," Sempra Chief Executive Donald E. Felsinger said.

Sempra Energy, owner of the largest U.S. natural-gas utility, expects 2009 per-share profit to rise to $4.35 to $4.60 as the company opens natural-gas import terminals and extends pipeline operations. Its shares rose 3.9%. Sempra, based in San Diego, was expected to earn $4.58 a share, excluding one-time items, next year, according to a Bloomberg survey. Sempra expects to complete two gas-import terminals in Baja California and Louisiana this year. A $4.4-billion pipeline venture with ConocoPhillips and Kinder Morgan Energy Partners began interim shipments from Colorado to Kansas in January, with full service to Ohio expected by mid-2009.

Sempra Energy reported Tuesday that net income for the fourth quarter more than doubled. Profit jumped to $289 million, or $1.10 a share, from $125 million, or 47 cents, a year earlier, said the San Diego-based owner of Southern California Gas Co. and San Diego Gas & Electric Co. Per-share profit was 6 cents higher than the average of 12 analyst estimates compiled by Bloomberg. Sempra is expanding with investments in liquefied natural gas projects and a pipeline venture.

A state senator accused a San Diego electricity trading company of perjury Wednesday and said other sellers to California during the energy crisis five years ago, including the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, could face similar charges. State Sen. Joe Dunn (D-Santa Ana) said he would refer evidence to the Sacramento County district attorney that Sempra Energy Trading Corp.

Sempra Energy reported Tuesday that net income for the fourth quarter more than doubled. Profit jumped to $289 million, or $1.10 a share, from $125 million, or 47 cents, a year earlier, said the San Diego-based owner of Southern California Gas Co. and San Diego Gas & Electric Co. Per-share profit was 6 cents higher than the average of 12 analyst estimates compiled by Bloomberg. Sempra is expanding with investments in liquefied natural gas projects and a pipeline venture.

Sempra Energy, owner of the largest U.S. natural-gas utility, agreed to purchase $1 billion of its shares from Merrill Lynch & Co. as part of a $2-billion buyback program. Sempra will pay Merrill for the shares on Feb. 8, and the receipt of the shares may extend into the fourth quarter of 2008, according to a public filing by the San Diego-based company. It said in July that it would repurchase as much as $2 billion of its shares with proceeds from the planned $1.

Utility owners Sempra Energy and PG&E Corp. posted lower third-quarter earnings Thursday on the absence of gains that had boosted year-earlier results. San Diego-based Sempra also was hampered by its commodities business, and San Francisco-based PG&E by higher costs to buy electricity. Sempra Energy, parent of San Diego Gas & Electric, said net income was $305 million, or $1.15 a share, compared with $653 million, or $2.49, a year earlier. Sales fell 1% to $2.66 billion.