Pacific Gas and Electric Company: disconnection notice

Collect

• 15-day or 48-hour notice
• account balance
• Medical Baseline or LIHEAP documents

Steps

1. Call PG&E before the date on the notice. Say you cannot pay and ask for a 24-month payment arrangement, or set up a plan or extension online.

   OnlinePayment plan or due date extension (My Account > Payment Arrangements) Sign-in required

2. Ask PG&E to enroll you in every benefit program you qualify for (CARE, FERA, AMP) and apply for REACH or LIHEAP help.

   FormFinancial assistance programs (CARE, FERA, REACH, LIHEAP, AMP, Match My Payment)

3. If someone in the home has a qualifying medical condition or device, apply for Medical Baseline.

   FormMedical Baseline Program online application

4. If you and PG&E cannot agree on payment arrangements, write to the CPUC Consumer Affairs Branch before the shutoff date.

More contacts for this issue

Facts you can cite

• Deadline

  A residential bill is past due if not paid within 19 days after it is mailed. PG&E then mails a 15-day notice, then a 48-hour notice, and makes a reasonable attempt to contact an adult by phone or in person at least 24 hours before shutoff.

  Source: pge.com, verified 2026-10-12

• Policy

  PG&E must offer a 24-month payment arrangement to a residential customer who says they cannot pay, and will not disconnect a customer who is current on the 24-month plan and on monthly bills.

  Source: pge.com, verified 2026-10-12

• Policy

  Residential service is not disconnected when PG&E forecasts temperatures above 100 degrees or below 32 degrees in a 72-hour look-ahead period, or on Saturdays, Sundays, legal holidays or when PG&E offices are closed.

  Source: pge.com, verified 2026-10-12

• Policy

  PG&E does not disconnect a customer with a pending LIHEAP pledge, and must first offer to enroll eligible customers in all applicable PG&E benefit programs.

  Source: pge.com, verified 2026-10-12

• Policy

  PG&E must visit Medical Baseline, Life Support or self-certified seriously ill customers in person within the 48 hours before, or at the time of, disconnection, and offer pay-by-phone or a 48-hour courtesy extension.

  Source: pge.com, verified 2026-10-12

• Policy

  Residential customers disconnected for the first time on or after December 17, 2025 have service restored when they agree to a payment plan for the balance. Restoration is within 24 hours of payment for remote reconnections or one business day for field reconnections.

  Source: pge.com, verified 2026-10-12

• Compensation

  REACH gives up to $800 toward a past-due bill after a disconnection notice; LIHEAP up to $1,000; the Arrearage Management Plan forgives up to $8,000 of debt for customers enrolled in CARE or FERA.

  Source: pge.com, verified 2026-10-12

• Process

  A payment plan splits an existing balance into monthly payments and cannot be changed once set up; a due date extension moves the due date up to 30 days. Both can be set up online or at 1-877-660-6789.

  Source: pge.com, verified 2026-10-12

• Policy

  Medical Baseline eligibility is based on a qualifying medical condition or device, not income. It gives about 500 kWh of electricity and/or 25 therms of gas per month at the lowest price and extra alerts before a Public Safety Power Shutoff.

  Source: pge.com, verified 2026-10-12

• Deadline

  Medical Baseline customers with non-permanent conditions must recertify every two years with a medical practitioner's signature; permanent conditions self-certify every four years.

  Source: pge.com, verified 2026-10-12

• Policy

  Customers who do not qualify for Medical Baseline but whose health or safety would be at risk can set Self-Identified Vulnerable status in My Account. It gives extra notice before a nonpayment shutoff and lasts one year.

  Source: pge.com, verified 2026-10-12

If that fails, escalate

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

1. Customer service

   PhoneResidential customer service (English) +1-877-660-6789

2. Supervisor

   Ask the representative for a supervisor. Write down the name and reference number.

3. Written complaint

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

4. 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.

5. 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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