Eligible customers can receive up to $1,000 bill credit when making a payment
Oakland, California. — To help support more customers facing past-due energy bills, Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) is expanding the eligibility requirements and benefits offered by the Relief for Energy program. Assistance through Community Help, REACH). The REACH program helps qualified customers pay their overdue energy bill to avoid service disconnections.
The REACH Triple Match program provides a credit to customers who make a bill payment to help further reduce their balance. The program expands the number of eligible customers who can receive a match from 3 to 1. For example, a household of four with an income of $120,000 a year could qualify for assistance.
The REACH Triple Match program requires low- and moderate-income customers to make a pre-matched payment three times, providing a bill credit of up to $1,000. For example, if a customer makes a payment of $100, REACH will match it with an invoice credit of $300, for a total credit of $400.
Income guidelines and information on how to apply can be found online here.
PG&E recently contributed $55 million to support the nonprofit Dollar Energy Fund (DEF), marking an expansion of the REACH program. This contribution is funded through PG&E and not from customer rates.
More than $8.2 million in billing assistance has already been provided to qualified PG&E customers this year. DEF operates separately from PG&E and is responsible for distributing funds to PG&E customers.
“PG&E is committed to providing tangible bill relief to more households,” said Vincent Davis, Senior Vice President of Customer Experience. “Through the REACH Triple Matching Contribution, we want to help ensure equitable access to essential energy services.”
REACH Triple Matching Eligibility Requirements
* • Applicants must have an active PG&E residential account in their name.
* • Must have a minimum past due balance of $200.
* • Must meet specific income guidelines.
* • They must not have received REACH funds in the last 12 months.
* • A minimum payment of $50 is required
* • Customer payment plus matching funds cannot exceed customer’s outstanding balance
Dollar Energy Fund
The Dollar Energy Fund is a nonprofit entity that administers REACH program funds, operating through 170 offices in Northern and Central California. PG&E customers, including those who need language assistance or help with their applications, can contact an agency in their county or apply online at www.hardshiptools.org/MyApp. Applicants can also call 1-800-933-9677 for assistance.
Other PG&E Assistance Programs
PG&E has several other assistance programs to help customers who are behind on their energy bills. Billing assistance programs include:
* • Family Electric Rate Assistance (FERA): Offers an 18% monthly discount on electricity for households with three or more people.
* • Arrearage Management Plan (AMP): A debt relief plan for eligible residential customers who may have experienced pandemic-related hardship.
* • Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) – A federally funded and state-supervised assistance program that offers a one-time payment of up to $1,000 on overdue bills to help low-income households pay for heating or cooling their homes, provides emergency assistance in energy crises and home weatherization.
About PG&E
Pacific Gas and Electric Company, a subsidiary of PG&E Corporation (NYSE: PCG), is a combined natural gas and electric company serving more than 16 million people in a 70,000-square-mile area in northern and central California . For more information, visit pge.com and pge.com/news.
