Pacific Gas and Electric Company: billing error

Ask PG&E to investigate the bill within five days so service stays on; ask for a meter test if usage looks wrong; take an unresolved dispute to the CPUC.

ACredibility A · last verified 2026-10-12 · dossier 2026-10-12 · 100% official or government sources

What does this mean?

Grade A (high: almost everything comes from official pages read directly). 100% of 67 sources are the organization's own pages or government sites.

All Pacific Gas and Electric Company contacts Open in the interactive directory JSON

Collect

the disputed bill
previous bills for comparison
meter photos with dates
notes of calls with reference numbers

Steps

Call PG&E, say you dispute the bill and ask for a bill investigation. Do this within five days of receiving the bill to keep the disconnection hold. Keep paying bills that are not in dispute.
PhoneResidential customer service (English) +1-877-660-6789
If the bill is based on an estimated read or usage looks too high, ask PG&E to test the meter (five working days' notice).
PhoneResidential customer service (English) +1-877-660-6789
If PG&E says the bill is correct and you disagree, file a complaint with the CPUC Consumer Affairs Branch. You may deposit the disputed amount with the CPUC instead of paying PG&E; a residential customer who cannot pay the full amount does not have to deposit it.

More contacts for this issue

PhonePG&E customer service (number used on the claims page and help center; also for downed powerlines after 911) +1-800-743-5000

MailCorrespondence Management Center (written complaints) PG&E Correspondence Management Center, P.O. Box 997310, Sacramento, CA 95899-7310

Facts you can cite

Policy
PG&E will not terminate residential service when the customer has started a complaint or asked for an investigation within five days of receiving a disputed bill, until the customer has had a review by PG&E or the CPUC. The customer must keep paying undisputed bills.
Source: pge.com, verified 2026-10-12
Process
In place of paying a disputed bill, the customer may deposit the amount PG&E claims with the California Public Utilities Commission, with the bill and a statement of the basis for the dispute. A residential customer unable to pay the full disputed amount is not required to deposit it during Commission review.
Source: pge.com, verified 2026-10-12
Fee
A customer may require PG&E to test the electric meter on not less than five working days' notice. There is no charge, except a deposit of $1.00 to $5.00 per meter when a customer whose average monthly bill is under $150 asks within six months of installation or more often than once every six months; the deposit is returned if the meter is more than two percent fast or slow.
Source: pge.com, verified 2026-10-12
Compensation
If a residential meter registers more than two percent fast, PG&E refunds the overcharge for up to three years (or only the months of the error if shorter). If it is more than 25 percent slow, PG&E may back-bill up to three months.
Source: pge.com, verified 2026-10-12
Policy
Estimated bills are treated as a "billing error" under Rule 17.1 unless the estimate was caused by access problems, the customer, or a natural or man-made disaster.
Source: pge.com, verified 2026-10-12

Rules in force

Restore Online Shoppers' Confidence Act (ROSCA) negative option requirements
15 U.S.C. 8401-8405
A seller that charges consumers online through a negative option feature (for example an automatic renewal or a free trial that converts to paid) must clearly disclose all material terms before taking billing information, get the consumer's express informed consent before charging, and provide simple mechanisms to stop recurring charges. The FTC enforces ROSCA.
Source: law.cornell.edu, verified 2026-10-12
1 citable point
- Policy
  The seller must obtain "a consumer's express informed consent before charging the consumer's credit card, debit card, bank account, or other financial account".
  Source: law.cornell.edu, verified 2026-10-12

If that fails, escalate

Go up one step at a time. Keep the reference numbers and dates from each contact.

Customer service
PhoneResidential customer service (English) +1-877-660-6789
Supervisor
Ask the representative for a supervisor. Write down the name and reference number.
Written complaint
MailCorrespondence Management Center (written complaints) PG&E Correspondence Management Center, P.O. Box 997310, Sacramento, CA 95899-7310
State agency
Your state’s utility commission. Find it in the list of state agencies (also as JSON: states/<code>.json, for example states/ny.json).
California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC), Consumer Affairs Branch. PG&E's help center says billing disputes that PG&E staff cannot resolve go to the CPUC.
State agency
Your state’s attorney general. Find it in the list of state agencies (also as JSON: states/<code>.json, for example states/ny.json).
California Attorney General.

Watch out

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Let your AI agent handle this

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1. Set it up (needs uv):

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Pacific Gas and Electric Company charged me [amount] on [date] for something I did not order. Use Escalate Anything to get it corrected.

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