PG&E extends suspension of service disconnections
SAN FRANCISCO (KION) Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) announced that it will extend its suspension of utility service disconnections through Sept. 30 of this year.
The suspension was first put in place in March 2020 by the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We believe extending the service disconnection moratorium for all customers allows for additional relief efforts from the state to take shape while protecting our customers who are financially struggling,” said Marlene Santos, PG&E Executive Vice President and Chief Customer Officer.
The utility said it will auto-enroll eligible customers in its new extended payment plans by the end of September. Although this suspension has been extended, PG&E said other CPUC emergency customer protections have expired.
California Alternate Rates for Energy (CARE) and Family Electric Rate Assistance (FERA) customers whose eligibility would have expired between March 4, 2020 and June 30, 2021 will need to re-certify, and those whose eligibility expired on or after July 1 will need to recertify within 90 days. The earliest a customer may be removed from one of the programs is Oct 1, and PG&E said customers will get direct mail and emails prior to that. About 300,000 customers have enrolled in CARE since February 2020, which provides a discount to income-qualified customers.
Medical Practitioner Certifications for the Medical Baseline Program have also resumed. Active customers who have enrolled in the program under consumer protections and those with designated non-permanent medical conditions will need to recertify for continued eligibility. PG&E said it will send reminders to customers. PG&E is also launching an online Medical Baseline medical practitioner portal to allow customers and practitioners to complete the certification or recertification process online. PG&E says the Medical Baseline program has grown from 192,000 customers in 2020 to more than 256,000 customers in June 2021.
