Our President of Citizens Energy, Joe Kennedy III, and CEO Pete Smith recently traveled to California to spend time with community partners, recognize local nonprofit organizations, and see firsthand the impact our work can have beyond the grid.
Over the course of the trip, they joined partners in San Diego County and Imperial County to award grants funded through profits from Citizens’ transmission investments and clean energy partnerships — continuing our commitment to reinvesting in the communities connected to our infrastructure projects.
They began the day in San Diego alongside San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E) at the Gary and Mary West Senior Wellness Center, where we celebrated a new round of community grants supporting transportation electrification and food access efforts throughout the region.
Through our investment in SDG&E’s Sycamore-Penasquitos transmission line, three nonprofit organizations — Serving Seniors, Chicano Federation, and Healthy Day Partners — received funding for six new electric vehicles that will help expand meal delivery, health outreach, nutrition education, and community services.
“These aren’t just vehicles,” Kennedy said during remarks at the event. “They are meal deliveries to seniors who might otherwise go without. They are rides to medical appointments, connections to care, and support for families navigating some of the toughest moments in their lives.”
After the announcement, they joined SDG&E President Scott Crider and volunteers to serve lunch to seniors at the wellness center — a meaningful reminder of the people and communities at the center of this work.
Later that day, they traveled to Imperial County to join the Imperial Irrigation District (IID) in recognizing grant recipients of the Neighborhood Partnership Program and Community Microgrant Program – programs funded through Citizens’ investment in IID’s S-Line Upgrade transmission project. Together, Citizens and IID highlighted a shared belief that the benefits of energy infrastructure should extend beyond transmission lines and into the neighborhoods and communities that make these projects possible.
We were proud to support several local awardees. Reps 4 Vets received funding for electrical upgrades at transitional housing serving homeless veterans — strengthening safety, reliability, and comfort for those working to rebuild their lives. The Westmorland Elementary School District received support for a new book vending machine, designed to encourage literacy and celebrate student achievement in a creative and engaging way.
The event reflected what we see every day in these partnerships: the importance of showing up for the communities where we work, and ensuring that the investments tied to major energy infrastructure directly respond to local needs and priorities. It is about more than funding projects — it is about listening, partnering, and helping strengthen the organizations that are already doing essential work on the ground.
“Our partnership with IID is a strong example of how energy-related investments can also support people and communities at the local level,” Kennedy said during the event. “We are proud to help advance projects that strengthen neighborhoods and improve quality of life in Imperial County.”
This trip reinforced something that has long guided our work at Citizens: that energy infrastructure should do more than move power across a system — it should create real, tangible benefits for the communities connected to it. Whether through strengthening the grid, expanding access to affordable clean energy, or supporting organizations meeting urgent local needs, we remain focused on pairing infrastructure with impact.
Since our founding in 1979, Citizens has provided more than $600 million in support to communities across the country — and behind that number are real people, real organizations, and real moments of partnership that strengthen communities every day.