Pacific Gas and Electric Company

In short

Dispute a bill with PG&E within five days of receiving it: that keeps residential service on until PG&E or the CPUC has reviewed it, as long as you keep paying undisputed bills. If you cannot pay, ask for the 24-month payment plan and apply for REACH, LIHEAP and the Arrearage Management Plan before the shutoff date. If PG&E does not fix it, file an informal complaint with the CPUC online. PG&E never asks for gift cards or payment apps; check any call at 1-833-500-SCAM.

How complaints actually go

• Frontline help is PG&E customer service at 1-877-660-6789. PG&E scams page
• A billing dispute started within five days of receiving the bill stops a residential shutoff until the customer has had a review by PG&E or the CPUC under Rule 10; the customer must keep paying later undisputed bills. PG&E Electric Rule 11
• If PG&E does not resolve it, file an informal complaint with the CPUC Consumer Affairs Branch; the online portal is the fastest route, and a formal complaint is possible if the informal one fails. CPUC: utility complaint
• Damage and loss claims go to a separate claims team (online form, lawclaims@pge.com, or 415-973-4548). PG&E pays for losses caused by its negligence and aims to decide within 30 days of receipt. Billing and solar issues are not handled as claims. PG&E claims

What tends to work

• Ask for the 24-month plan: PG&E must offer a 24-month payment plan and will not disconnect a customer who is current on it and on monthly bills. PG&E Electric Rule 11
• Apply for every program: REACH gives up to $800 toward a past-due bill after a disconnection notice, LIHEAP up to $1,000, and the Arrearage Management Plan up to $8,000 of debt forgiveness for CARE or FERA customers. CARE gives 20 percent or more off gas and 35 percent or more off electricity for income-qualified homes; FERA gives 18 percent. PG&E financial assistance
• A pending LIHEAP pledge stops a shutoff. PG&E Electric Rule 11
• For a high bill, ask for a meter test (PG&E must do it on not less than five working days' notice). If a meter runs more than 2 percent fast, PG&E refunds up to three years of overcharges. PG&E Electric Rule 17
• Medical Baseline, Life Support and self-certified seriously ill customers must get an in-person visit within the 48 hours before a shutoff, with a pay-by-phone option or a 48-hour extension. PG&E Electric Rule 11
• After a storm outage of 48 consecutive hours or more, residential customers may get an automatic Safety Net payment of $25-100 about 60 days later, with no claim needed. PG&E claims

Traps and fine print

• A payment plan cannot be changed once set up; missing payments can mean no plan next time and a shutoff. PG&E payment plans
• If you break the payment plan, the whole balance becomes due at once and service can be cut after at least 48 hours' notice. PG&E Electric Rule 11
• Claims for outages caused by weather, earthquakes or grid-operator curtailments are generally not paid. Food spoilage claims must be submitted and resolved within one year; property damage claims have three years and injury claims generally two. PG&E claims
• Weather and calendar protections are specific: PG&E does not disconnect residential service on Saturdays, Sundays, legal holidays or when its offices are closed, or when it forecasts temperatures above 100 or below 32 degrees in a 72-hour look-ahead. PG&E Electric Rule 11

Scams that target customers

• PG&E will never ask for financial information over the phone, never takes gift cards, MoneyPak or payment apps such as Venmo or Zelle, and will never threaten to shut off power within the hour. PG&E scams page
• Scammers spoof real PG&E numbers such as 1-800-743-5000 on caller ID, and may know your balance or due date. PG&E scams page
• Fake vendors offering usage insights ask for your account number, login or Social Security number; PG&E says vendors do not need this. PG&E scams page
• Real PG&E emails come from addresses ending in pge.com. Report scam emails to ScamReporting@pge.com and scam visits or calls to 1-833-500-SCAM (1-833-500-7226). PG&E scams page