The COVID-19 pandemic is affecting countries and industries worldwide and is having many local impacts. People are rightfully concerned about the health and safety of their family and friends, the education of their children and their finances as more businesses temporarily close.
Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) has this message for its customers: “We’ll keep working hard every day to keep the power and gas on for you.”
“Our 23,000 employees remain focused on delivering safe and reliable gas and electric service to our customers. You’ll continue to see our blue and white trucks and our hard-working crews in the field engaged in important work to safely supply energy to our customers,” said Andy Vesey, PG&E Utility CEO and President.
“We see our role at PG&E during this very difficult time as helping to maintain essential services, no matter what. With inclement weather continuing across Northern and Central California, right now that means tracking weather systems and working with our workforce in the field to stage resources, inspect our equipment, make needed repairs and ensure we’re prepared for what comes next,” Vesey said.
Previously, on March 12, PG&E announced that due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it had voluntarily implemented a moratorium on service disconnections for non-payment, effective immediately. This suspension will apply to both residential and commercial customers and will remain in effect until further notice. Visit www.pge.com/covid19 for more details and to see how the company is supporting its customers and employees.
Tuesday, March 17 in its continuing response to the COVID-19 pandemic, PG&E announced:
• It has formally activated its Emergency Operations Center to facilitate and coordinate the company’s response to the spread of the virus. The company has had an Incident Management Team monitoring and responding to the virus for three weeks.
• In an effort to maintain continuity of gas and electric service, the company has proactively determined that it will not engage in system upgrades or other work that results in a disruption of gas or electric service through April 7 in the six Bay Area counties under the shelter-in-place directives. This includes San Francisco, Santa Clara, San Mateo, Marin, Contra Costa and Alameda counties.
• All PG&E’s customer service centers where customers can normally pay their bills will be closed as of Tuesday, March 17. This follows guidance on social distancing. Customers who typically pay their bills at one of these centers can call 1-877-704-8470, mail payments to PG&E, P.O. Box 997300, Sacramento, CA 95899, or go to go to pge.com to learn how to pay online or to find nearby Neighborhood Payment Centers.
Tom Dalzell, business manager of IBEW Local 1245, which represents most of PG&E’s electric and gas workers, agreed that ensuring customers have the energy they need for their lives is more important than ever.
“We stand with PG&E during this challenging time, and the men and women of IBEW will be working as hard as ever to make sure the grid is working safely, gas is flowing reliably and that we are here for PG&E’s customers,” said Dalzell.
Power in PG&E’s portfolio remains readily available and more than 80 percent GHG-free. PG&E operates several natural gas power plants, a nuclear plant in San Luis Obispo County and the country’s largest privately held hydropower system. Additionally, the company gets power from solar and wind farms and other renewable sources. It all flows to customers via electric transmission lines and gas transmission pipelines and then through distribution lines to homes and businesses.
Pacific Gas and Electric Company, a subsidiary of PG&E Corporation (NYSE:PCG), is one of the largest combined natural gas and electric utilities in the United States. Based in San Francisco, with more than 23,000 employees, the company delivers energy to nearly 16 million people in Northern and Central California. For more information, visit www.pge.com/and www.pge.com/en/about/newsroom/index.page.
