Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) customers affected by the recent Public Safety Power Shutoffs (PSPS) may qualify for reimbursements.
The more than 45,000 PG&E customers that lost power in Santa Cruz County over the weekend are not eligible for the utility’s Safety Net program, which pays between $25-100 after an outage longer than 48 hours, according to PG&E officials. But customers that believe PG&E’s shutoff caused a loss—property damage, personal injury, lost wages, food spoilage—for which they should be compensated can file a claim with the utility at its website.
To file a claim click here.
The power was shut off in advance of predicated heavy winds throughout the Central Coast, Bay Area and North Coast.
During a Friday visit to Sonoma County to survey areas impacted by the Kincade Fire, Governor Gavin Newsom announced the launch of the Local Government PSPS Resiliency Program, a $75 million one-time general fund appropriation to support state and local government efforts to protect public safety and improve resiliency in response to utility-led PSPS actions.
The funding will focus on jurisdictions where there is heightened PSPS vulnerability, state officials said.
“PG&E failed to maintain its infrastructure and Californians are facing hardship as a result. For decades, they have placed greed before public safety,” Newsom said during a press conference Friday. “We must do everything we can to support Californians, especially those most vulnerable to these events. These funds will help local governments address these events and assist their most vulnerable residents.”
A new round of power shutoffs in Santa Cruz County is scheduled for 11 p.m. tonight. Residents in the upper San Lorenzo Valley and North Coast areas—roughly 5,400 customers—will be without power, according to Hoppin.
The re-energization process for those customers is predicted to begin at 7 a.m. Wednesday.
“Many of these customers have not had their power restored yet,” Hoppin said. “The County has been told PG&E will restore power for customers scheduled for the new PSPS if they can, even if only for a few hours.”
To see if you will be affected by the shutoff visit https://psps.ss.pge.com/.
