Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E) Coverage Area, Rebates, & Outage Tools

Get the Facts on PG&E Service Coverage, Rate Plans, and Bill-Saving Programs

Moving into a new California home or trying to shrink your monthly utility costs can feel overwhelming when dealing with one of the largest energy providers in the country. Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E) powers millions of households, yet navigating its restructured billing model, tracking regional power safety shutoffs, and applying for financial assistance takes a bit of insider knowledge. We put together this comprehensive guide to help you understand the new PG&E Base Services Charge, compare current rate plans, access the official outage map, and tap into actionable programs that lower your monthly energy bill.

About Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E)

Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E) operates as an investor-owned utility providing critical electric and natural gas service to residents across Northern and Central California. The company is actively modernizing the state’s grid, investing heavily in sweeping wildfire prevention strategies, and continually expanding its clean energy offerings. If you’re moving to the region, PG&E will almost certainly be your primary utility provider. When you need to reach a representative, it helps to dial the right PG&E customer service number: call 1-877-660-6789 for primary residential billing and account inquiries, or dial 1-800-743-5000 for the 24-hour emergency and outage line (which also serves as the support line for multi-family rate schedules).

Here is a quick snapshot of the company’s historical and operational footprint:

• Founded Date: 1905
• Headquarters: Oakland, California
• Customers Served: Over 16 million people
• Primary Service Types: Electricity generation and delivery, alongside natural gas supply

PG&E Coverage Area (Including Major Cities)

The vast PG&E gas and electric service area covers a sprawling 70,000-square-mile geographic region. This massive territory stretches from Eureka down to Bakersfield and from the Pacific coast to the Sierra Nevada mountains, encompassing major urban centers alongside rural farming communities.

When reviewing the map, it helps to know precisely what utility services are delivered to specific regions. While some cities receive both gas and power, others only utilize PG&E for a single utility line:

• San Francisco: Receives both electric and natural gas service.
• Oakland: Receives both electric and natural gas service.
• San Jose: Receives both electric and natural gas service.
• Fresno: Receives both electric and natural gas service.
• Bakersfield: Receives both electric and natural gas service.
• Sacramento: Predominantly receives natural gas service from PG&E, while electricity is managed by the Sacramento Municipal Utility District (SMUD).

Understanding Community Choice Aggregation (CCAs)

While PG&E acts as the default delivery monopoly for electricity throughout this footprint, residential customers in many cities have choices regarding how their power is generated. In California’s partially deregulated energy market, numerous municipalities participate in Community Choice Aggregation PG&E partnerships. Under a CCA program, your local government purchases alternative electric generation on your behalf — often from higher percentages of solar and wind sources — while PG&E maintains the physical power lines, reads your meter, and delivers the energy to your home.

If you’re moving to the Bay Area or Central Coast, don’t be surprised if you see a second company listed on your monthly PG&E statement. You aren’t being double-billed; the CCA simply replaces PG&E’s generation charge with its own. Major local CCAs operating within PG&E’s territory include:

• CleanPowerSF: Serving San Francisco residents and businesses.
• Ava Community Energy (formerly East Bay Community Energy): Serving Alameda County and the City of Tracy.
• MCE (Marin Clean Energy): Serving Marin, Napa, Solano, and Contra Costa counties.
• Silicon Valley Clean Energy (SVCE): Serving 13 communities across Santa Clara County.
• Peninsula Clean Energy: Serving San Mateo County and the City of Los Banos.

PG&E Plans and Pricing

It’s no secret that PG&E electric rates remain among the highest in the nation, making careful rate plan selection critical for managing your household budget. However, PG&E recently overhauled its residential billing structure. To offset the introduction of a new fixed monthly Base Services Charge, the utility reduced bundled residential per-kilowatt-hour (kWh) electricity rates by roughly 4.7 cents/kWh. Your usage habits — especially when and how you consume electricity — will dictate which pricing model saves you the most money. Fortunately, you aren’t locked into a single choice forever; PG&E allows residential customers to change their rate plan up to two times within a rolling 12-month period.

The Restructured Bill: PG&E Base Services Charge

Following a statewide mandate from the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC), PG&E restructured residential electric bills by separating fixed grid-maintenance costs from volumetric per-kWh usage prices. Previously, the costs to maintain poles, wires, transformers, and customer service centers were baked directly into the price you paid for every kilowatt-hour of electricity. Now, every residential electric customer pays a flat monthly PG&E Base Services Charge just to be connected to the grid, paired with lower per-kWh usage rates.

Customer Tier	Estimated Daily Cost	Estimated Monthly Base Services Charge
Standard Residential	~$0.79/day	~$24.15/month
FERA & Deed-Restricted Affordable Housing	~$0.40/day	~$12.08/month
CARE Enrolled Households	~$0.20/day	~$6.00/month

So, who wins and who pays more under this new structure? Because PG&E dropped usage rates by about 4.7 cents/kWh to balance out the fixed fee, high-electricity households generally come out ahead. If you drive an electric vehicle, heat your home with an electric heat pump, cook on an induction stove, or run central air conditioning in the Central Valley, the lower per-kWh price will likely save you money overall. Conversely, ultra-frugal residents in small apartments who use very little power — as well as legacy solar homeowners who previously zeroed out their monthly usage charges — may see a slight net increase on their bills. Keep in mind that if you get your power generation through a local CCA (such as CleanPowerSF or MCE), you still pay this monthly Base Services Charge as part of PG&E’s mandatory delivery fees.

Time-of-Use (TOU) vs. Tiered Plans

The core decision for most households centers on the PG&E time of use vs tiered debate. Most residential customers are automatically enrolled in a Time-of-Use rate structure, specifically the standard E-TOU-C plan. This model heavily incentivizes you to use energy outside the high-demand peak window of 4:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. every single day. If you can wait to run your air conditioner, wash laundry, or turn on the dishwasher until before 4:00 p.m. or after 9:00 p.m., you’ll benefit from much cheaper energy rates. PG&E also offers an E-TOU-D plan, which shrinks the peak window to 5:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. on non-holiday weekdays only, though it doesn’t include a discounted baseline credit.

On the flip side, the standard tiered plan (known as the E-1 rate schedule) ignores what time of day you use energy. Instead, it charges a flat rate up to a specific monthly threshold known as your baseline allowance (which varies by your region and season). Once you cross that usage limit during your billing cycle, you enter a noticeably more expensive pricing tier. This plan works best for retirees, remote workers who run appliances between 4:00 p.m. and 9:00 p.m., or low-usage consumers who rarely exceed their baseline limits.

Plan Type	How It Works	Estimated Rate Ranges (Post-Restructure)
Time-of-Use (E-TOU-C)	Rates fluctuate based on the time of day. Energy is more expensive during peak hours (4:00–9:00 p.m. daily) and cheaper during off-peak times.	Off-Peak: ~29–33 cents/kWh Peak: ~37–41 cents/kWh
Tiered (E-1)	You receive a monthly baseline allowance at a lower flat rate. Exceeding that allowance triggers a sharp price increase regardless of the hour.	Tier 1 (Baseline): ~30 cents/kWh Tier 2 (Over Baseline): ~39 cents/kWh

EV, Home Electrification, and Net Metering (NEM 3.0)

If you’re upgrading your home with eco-conscious technologies, staying on a standard residential rate plan is a fast way to overpay. PG&E offers specialized rate schedules designed to reward clean energy adoption:

• EV2-A (Whole-Home EV Rate Plan): The PG&E EV2-A rate plan combines your home and electric vehicle energy use onto a single meter. It offers PG&E’s cheapest off-peak charging rates from 12:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. daily (hovering around 23 cents/kWh). Partial-peak hours run from 3:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. and 9:00 p.m. to 12:00 a.m., while expensive peak hours remain 4:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.
• EV-B (Separately Metered EV Plan): Designed for homeowners who install a dedicated second utility meter strictly for their EV charger, keeping their household electricity on a separate tiered or TOU plan. Because installing a second meter requires an electrician, most residents opt for EV2-A instead.
• E-ELEC (Electric Home Rate Plan): Officially known as the Electric Home Rate Plan, E-ELEC is tailored for customers with high-usage electric upgrades, including EV charging, home battery storage, or electric heat pump systems (for water or space heating). It pairs a daily base charge with lower off-peak kWh rates, making it the go-to schedule for fully electrified homes.

Additionally, for homeowners installing new rooftop solar panels, PG&E’s net metering 3.0 structure (officially called the Net Billing Tariff, or NBT) applies. Under NEM 3.0, new solar customers are required to enroll in the E-ELEC rate plan. Because the credit you receive for exporting excess solar energy back to the grid during sunny midday hours is roughly 75% lower than under legacy solar rules, it is highly advantageous to pair new solar panels with a home battery to store your own power and discharge it between 4:00 p.m. and 9:00 p.m.

Choosing a Retail Natural Gas Provider (RNGP)

If you live within PG&E’s natural gas service footprint, you actually have the option to purchase your gas supply from a certified third-party company under California’s Core Transport Agent (CTA) program. These competitive suppliers are known as Retail Natural Gas Providers (RNGP), and they offer fixed-rate plans, carbon-offset gas options, or bundled perks that differ from PG&E’s default variable supply rates.

Provider	Plan Highlights	Renewable/Carbon Offset Options	Key Considerations
PG&E	Variable monthly procurement rates, no alternative provider needed. Handles all gas pipeline delivery.	Limited green gas options (focuses heavily on electricity renewables).	Rates and delivery regulated directly by the CPUC.
Spark Energy	Fixed-rate gas plans (up to 12 months) for predictable winter budgeting.	Renewable Energy Credits (RECs) and carbon offsets via add-ons.	Early termination fee ($50); watch out for renewal rate jumps.
XOOM Energy	Fixed-rate, variable-rate, and TruEco® carbon offset plans. No enrollment fees.	Offsets 100% of natural gas emissions via TruEco®.	Seamless switching while keeping your standard PG&E delivery bill.

*Providers and plans may vary by location. Search your ZIP code to see what’s available in your area.

PG&E Fees, Deposits, and Guarantees

Understanding standard PG&E connection fees, ongoing monthly charges, and deposit rules can help you avoid surprise line items on your first utility bill. Like most investor-owned utilities, PG&E outlines specific financial requirements to establish and maintain an active residential account:

• Monthly Base Services Charge: Every residential electric account incurs a fixed ongoing monthly fee for grid maintenance and customer support. This costs roughly $24.15 per month for standard residential accounts, $12.08 per month for FERA and deed-restricted affordable housing, and $6.00 per month for CARE households.
• Standard Connection Fee: When you start new service (especially for natural gas pilot light inspections or manual activations), expect a modest one-time connection charge typically ranging from $15 to $19 applied directly to your first monthly statement.
• Security Deposits: New customers without established credit may be required to pay an upfront security deposit, which is calculated as twice the average monthly bill for that specific address. You can waive this deposit by enrolling in AutoPay, passing a soft credit check, or providing a formal letter of credit from your previous utility provider demonstrating 12 months of consecutive, on-time payments.
• Late Payment Penalties: If your monthly statement is not paid by the scheduled due date, unpaid balances generally incur a late fee of 1% on the past-due amount after a short grace period.
• Paper Bill Fee: To encourage eco-friendly habits and reduce paper waste, PG&E charges a $2 per month fee if you opt out of paperless billing and request physical statements mailed to your home.

Deals, Discounts, and Ways to Save on Your PG&E Bill

Mitigating the high cost of energy delivery in California requires a proactive approach. Fortunately, PG&E offers generous income-qualified rate discounts and medical allowances designed to ease the financial burden on local families. Even if your household income exceeds standard assistance limits, you can still take advantage of seasonal bill credits and appliance rebates.

Primary Rate Discounts and Medical Programs:

• PG&E CARE Program (California Alternate Rates for Energy): As PG&E’s flagship financial assistance program, CARE provides a 30% to 35% discount on electricity and a 20% discount on natural gas every month, plus a deeply reduced $6.00/month Base Services Charge. You can qualify either through gross household income limits or automatically via categorical eligibility if someone in your home is enrolled in public assistance programs like Medi-Cal, CalFresh (SNAP), WIC, SSI, Healthy Families, or LIHEAP.
• FERA (Family Electric Rate Assistance): Designed for households of three or more people whose gross income slightly exceeds CARE guidelines, FERA provides an 18% monthly discount on electricity and cuts the monthly Base Services Charge in half to $12.08/month. Both CARE and FERA share a single, streamlined online application — if you don’t qualify for CARE, PG&E automatically checks your eligibility for FERA.
• Medical Baseline Allowance: Provides an extra monthly allotment of electricity and natural gas at the lowest baseline price for residents who rely on life-support equipment (such as CPAP machines, respirators, or motorized wheelchairs) or have qualifying medical conditions requiring strict climate control.

CARE and FERA Income Limits

To qualify for CARE or FERA based on income, your total combined household gross annual income (before taxes) must fall within the state-mandated thresholds below. These PG&E CARE program income limits are updated annually and remain effective from June 1 through May 31:

Household Size	CARE Gross Annual Income Limit	FERA Gross Annual Income Range
1–2 Persons	Up to $43,280	Not Eligible (Requires 3+ persons)
3 Persons	Up to $54,640	$54,641 – $68,300
4 Persons	Up to $66,000	$66,001 – $82,500
5 Persons	Up to $77,360	$77,361 – $96,700
6 Persons	Up to $88,720	$88,721 – $110,900
Each Additional Person	Add $11,360	Add $14,200

Past-Due Bill Relief and Rebates

If a brutal summer heatwave or winter cold snap leaves you behind on your utility bills, don’t wait for a disconnection notice to take action. PG&E offers debt-forgiveness programs alongside statewide credits and efficiency rebates:

• Match My Payment Program: Qualifying low-to-moderate-income customers (for example, a family of four earning under $132,000 annually) can receive a dollar-for-dollar match up to $1,000 to pay down past-due balances of $100 or more. Whenever you make a minimum payment of at least $50 toward your arrears, PG&E matches it equally until your past-due balance is wiped out or you hit the $1,000 cap.
• REACH (Relief for Energy Assistance through Community Help): Administered in partnership with Dollar Energy Fund, REACH helps income-eligible households facing an active past-due balance or disconnection notice with a one-time emergency bill credit of up to $800 (subject to available funding).
• Arrearage Management Plan (AMP): If you are enrolled in CARE or FERA, owe at least $500 on your gas and electric bill, and are more than 90 days past due, AMP offers a structured path out of debt. Each time you pay your current monthly bill on time, PG&E forgives 1/12th of your eligible past-due debt — erasing up to $8,000 total over 12 consecutive on-time payments.
• California Climate Credit: A bi-annual credit applied automatically to residential electric and gas bills (arriving in April and October) that distributes your household share of payments from the state’s cap-and-trade program.
• Hardware Rebates: You can claim cash-back rebates through PG&E’s marketplace for energy-saving home upgrades, including smart thermostats, high-efficiency electric heat pump water heaters, pool pumps, and ENERGY STAR certified appliances.

Reporting and Searching for PG&E Outages

Because Northern and Central California frequently face atmospheric river storms and heightened wildfire risks, PG&E maintains a detailed set of tools for tracking real-time power statuses. Whether you want to see if your neighborhood is affected by a downed tree limb or you need to check crew restoration timelines, the official PG&E outage map keeps you connected.

A major feature of grid management in California is the Public Safety Power Shutoff (PSPS). During periods of severely dry conditions, low humidity, and gusty winds, PG&E proactively de-energizes power lines in high-risk zones to prevent equipment from sparking catastrophic wildfires. Checking the outage portal allows you to prepare your household, charge backup batteries, and locate community resource centers before these planned shutoffs occur.

How to Check the Outage Map:

1. Navigate to the live outage map at pge.com/outages.
2. Enter your specific street address or ZIP code into the search bar to pull real-time community updates.
3. Click on the color-coded outage icons or polygons to view the number of affected customers, current crew status, estimated power restoration times, and the suspected cause of the disruption.
4. Enroll in targeted outage alerts via text message, automated phone call, or email directly from your dashboard to receive advance notice of PSPS events.

How to Report an Outage or Emergency:

• Online Form: Utilize the web portal to Report an Outage without logging into an account.
• Phone Support: For urgent emergencies like suspected gas leaks or live downed power lines, leave the area and call 911 immediately, then contact the 24-hour PG&E emergency and outage line at 1-800-743-5000.

The PG&E Mobile App and Account Management

There is often confusion surrounding mobile access because PG&E officially does not have an account management or billing mobile app. If you search the Apple App Store or Google Play Store for a way to pay your monthly bill, don’t download third-party lookalikes. Instead, you should access the mobile-responsive web portal at pge.com through your smartphone’s web browser to view usage graphs, switch rate plans, and pay your bill securely.

For smart-home enthusiasts looking to monitor their daily energy consumption on their phones, iOS users can connect their PG&E smart meter data directly to the built-in Apple Home app. By linking your utility credentials in the Apple Home settings, you can view when peak pricing is active and track your cleaner grid energy windows alongside your connected smart thermostats and appliances.

While you won’t use a dedicated app to pay your bill, the official PG&E Report It mobile app serves as a vital community tool for reporting non-emergency safety hazards.

PG&E Report It App Features:

• Report Non-Emergency Safety Concerns: Easily flag electrical infrastructure issues like tree branches growing dangerously close to power lines, leaning utility poles, or damaged transformer boxes.
• Submit Visual Evidence: Attach clear photos or a short video (up to 10 seconds) tagged with your phone’s GPS coordinates.
• Track Submissions: Receive real-time push notifications when your safety report is reviewed by inspectors and ultimately resolved by a field crew.

The PG&E Report It app is available for free on iOS and Android devices.

Sustainability and Renewable Energy Initiatives

Despite complaints over pricing, PG&E supplies electricity from an exceptionally clean mix of renewable and carbon-free sources. This aligns with California’s ambitious climate mandates and helps residents shrink their household carbon footprint without lifting a finger. The company achieved a major clean-energy milestone in 2023 by delivering 100% greenhouse-gas-free electricity to its bundled retail customers.

Current Energy Mix (as of 2023):

• 53% Nuclear (sourced heavily from the Diablo Canyon Power Plant)
• 34% Renewable (solar, wind, geothermal, and eligible biomass)
• 13% Large Hydropower, utilizing dams across Northern California

*Source: https://energydigital.com/articles/pg-es-electricity-100-greenhouse-gas-free-utility-says

In addition to cleaner generation, PG&E continues to integrate residential solar power through the NEM 3.0 (Net Billing Tariff) program and has surpassed 2,100 MW in utility-scale battery energy storage capacity to stabilize the grid during hot summer evenings. Beyond power generation, the utility is currently undertaking a massive, multi-year 10,000-mile power line undergrounding initiative in high-fire-threat districts — an infrastructure overhaul estimated to cost $16.6 billion as part of its ongoing wildfire mitigation efforts.

What People Are Saying: PG&E Reviews and Ratings

When searching for Pacific Gas & Electric customer reviews across the internet, the aggregated sentiment overwhelmingly trends negative. While low review scores are common for regional utility monopolies where consumers cannot switch delivery providers, PG&E faces particularly vocal criticism over its repeated rate hikes and wildfire recovery costs. Here is a breakdown of what customers are saying across major review platforms:

• Reddit: Active community threads in Bay Area and California subreddits frequently dissect the PG&E time of use vs tiered debate alongside widespread frustration over the new fixed Base Services Charge. Many apartment renters, low-usage consumers, and rooftop solar owners feel penalized by the flat $24.15 monthly fee compared to high-usage suburban households, though commenters regularly share helpful tips on pre-cooling homes before 4:00 p.m. to beat peak rates.
• Better Business Bureau (BBB): PG&E is not BBB accredited and holds a 1.02 out of 5 star average customer review rating. Formal complaints heavily cite sticker shock during peak summer cooling and winter heating months, billing estimation errors, and long wait times when calling customer support during severe storm outages.
• Trustpilot: Holding a 1.5 out of 5 TrustScore on Trustpilot, PG&E receives similar pushback regarding the high cost of energy delivery in California. However, a segment of reviewers notes that day-to-day electrical service and online account tools remain reliable outside of extreme weather events.
• CPUC & State Complaints: When billing disputes, unexplained smart meter spikes, or multi-day outage claims aren’t resolved by PG&E’s internal support teams, residents frequently escalate their grievances to the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC). Customers regularly attend public CPUC participation hearings to protest rate increases and file formal Consumer Affairs Branch complaints to force billing audits.

Why Choose PG&E and Who It Is Best For

Because PG&E operates as a state-regulated geographic monopoly for electricity and gas delivery across most of Northern and Central California, residents generally don’t have an alternative option for their physical utility connection (unless moving to a municipal utility pocket like SMUD in Sacramento or Silicon Valley Power in Santa Clara). Still, evaluating the provider’s strengths and weaknesses can help you extract the most value from your service.

Pros	Cons
100% greenhouse-gas-free retail electricity mix and strong CCA partnerships.	Some of the highest per-kWh electricity rates in the United States.
Generous financial assistance (CARE, FERA, AMP, and Match My Payment).	Mandatory monthly Base Services Charge penalizes ultra-low energy users.
Deep off-peak discounts on EV2-A and E-ELEC plans for electrified homes.	Peak hours (4:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.) can rapidly inflate your monthly bill.
Seamless smart meter integration with Apple Home and comprehensive outage maps.	Frequent PSPS shutoffs in rural fire zones and no dedicated billing mobile app.

Ultimately, PG&E’s current pricing model works best for households that actively manage their energy timing and embrace home electrification. With per-kWh rates lowered by ~4.7 cents to offset the fixed Base Services Charge, residents who drive electric vehicles, run heat pumps, and program heavy appliances to run between midnight and 3:00 p.m. on the EV2-A or E-ELEC plans get the best value out of the grid.

Preparing for Your PG&E Setup (Start or Stop Service)

If you’re relocating into a new apartment or purchasing a home in Northern or Central California, coordinating your utility transition shouldn’t be stressful. We recommend that you initiate your PG&E start or stop service request at least one full week prior to your official move-in or move-out date to guarantee uninterrupted power and gas.

New Resident Setup Checklist:

1. Submit Your Request Online: Head to pge.com roughly seven to 10 days before your move (or up to 60 days in advance) to input your new address, verify your identity, and schedule a turn-on date. Note that while smart electric meters activate remotely, turning on natural gas may require an in-person technician visit to inspect pilot lights.
2. Select Your Rate Plan: Review your work schedule and home setup to choose between the standard E-TOU-C plan, the Tiered E-1 plan, or specialized options like EV2-A. Remember, you can adjust your rate plan up to twice in a rolling 12-month period once your smart meter collects enough usage data to run a personalized rate comparison.
3. Configure Paperless Billing and AutoPay: Once your online dashboard is active, enroll in paperless statements to waive the $2/month paper bill fee and link your checking account for automatic payments to avoid the 1% late penalty or security deposit requirements.

Taking Control of Your PG&E Energy Service

Living in PG&E’s expansive territory connects your home to one of the cleanest energy grids in the country, even if the monthly statements require careful budgeting. While you can’t swap out PG&E’s physical delivery lines, you have plenty of tools to keep your utility costs in check. By picking the right Time-of-Use or EV rate schedule, shifting laundry and dishwashing away from the 4:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. window, and applying for CARE, FERA, or Match My Payment relief if your budget is tight, you can take firm control of your household energy bills.

Frequently Asked Questions About Pacific Gas & Electric