PG&E Upgrades Customer Service
Pacific Gas and Electric says it will devote more money and manpower to help customers who lose power for at least two days. Northern California€™s largest utility says it will automatically pay $25 to $100 dollars to residential customers who lose power for two to five days. Businesses won´t be eligible for the payments.
But homes and businesses that lose service for at least 48 hours will be able to call a new hotline staffed by humans, instead of being directed to an unreliable automated phone system. PG&E calls it the “Safety Net” program. Lawmakers and customers have criticized the utility for its response to two December storms. About 2 million customers lost power during the storms, some for as long as ten days.