The following was released this week by Pacific Gas & Electric regarding billing and a public safety power shutoff (PSPS).
This comes as PG&E operational and meteorological teams are monitoring a potentially strong offshore wind event on Wednesday (Nov. 20). The forecast remains uncertain, but there is a possibility that the weather could prompt a Public Safety Power Shutoff (PSPS) for some customers in the Sierra Foothills, North Valley and North Bay.
During late fall, PG&E’s service territory typically experiences dry vegetation (plants, shrubs, twigs and debris) that are ripe for igniting or spreading a wildfire. But dry vegetation conditions have worsened further due to above average temperatures for this time of year, the lack of rain and the recent series of extreme wind events.
Both the forecast and the scope of the weather event remain very fluid three days ahead of the event. At present, projections reflect a possible weather event similar to previous PSPS events that impacted about 180,000 customers.
Five things to know:
- Customers are not and will not be billed for usage when their power was off for public safety because no energy was being consumed.
- Customers can go to their online accounts and click on a specific day to see when power was being delivered and when power was out.
- Because SmartMeters are not able to communicate with the network when power is down, customers might see a shaded bar indicating estimated data, but the billing shows zero.
- For customers impacted by the Oct. 9 PSPS, the bill credit ($100 for residential customers, $250 for business customers) has started showing up in November bills. The credit will be listed as “Customer Satisfaction Adjustment” on bills.
- PG&E’s website offers substantial information about bills. Go to pge.com and click “Your Account.”
