SAN DIEGO — San Diego Gas and Electric on Wednesday announced it has activated emergency protections to help residents and small businesses affected by the recent winter storm.
The move is meant to ease the unexpected financial burden stemming from rain and flood impacts. The decision follows Governor Gavin Newsom’s proclamation of a State of Emergency on Jan. 23
Last week’s storm, dumped record rain on San Diego County with the National Weather Service confirming it was one of the wettest days ever experienced by the region.
As a result of the storm, SDGE said there were more than 25,000 unplanned outages across the region, with significant flooding damaging many homes and businesses.
“Dedicated gas and electric crews diligently worked to inspect and repair damages and by Tuesday afternoon, were able to fully restore power. However, minor repairs are still underway across the service area to help ensure the safe and reliable delivery of energy,” SDGE officials explained in a news release.
The following SDGE resources, programs and protections are now available to support customers impacted by the weather event:
— Billing may be discontinued and/or disconnections due to non-payment may be suspended for severely impacted customers whose homes have been destroyed or are deemed uninhabitable.
— Impacted customers will be granted expedited move-in and move-out service requests.
— While the customer protections are in effect, SDGE will not ask CARE, FERA and Medical Baseline customers to recertify or verify income and will not drop them from their respective program.
— Flexible payment plans and payment extensions.
— Bill discounts, debt forgiveness and one-time emergency payments for qualified customers.
— Certain medical conditions may qualify for additional electricity at the lowest rate.
More information on these protections and resources can be found here.
SDGE is also warning customers to be aware of scams during this time, and has provided these specific tips to residents:
— SDGE will never ask for payment to inspect customers’ gas or electric service.
— SDGE employees will be wearing a company uniform, will always have an employee badge and travel in an SDGE vehicle.
— SDGE will never call or email a customer to demand payment or threaten to disconnect service if payment isn’t received immediately.
Additionally, SDGE said it has provided $50,000 in shareholder-funded grants to several local organizations in an effort to offer immediate assistance to impacted communities.
“Here at SDGE, our hearts are with those who are dealing with the aftermath of the storm,” said SDGE Chief Operating Officer & Chief Safety Officer Kevin Geraghty. “We stand with our customers and are committed to helping our affected communities as they recover with resources and support.”