Pacific Gas and Electric Company announced it will commit $50 million in 2026 to help customers struggling with overdue energy bills, expanding financial relief through its REACH and Match My Payment programs.
The company said eligible customers could receive up to $1,800 in combined bill credits while funding remains available.
Under the expanded Relief for Energy Assistance through Community Help (REACH) program, customers who have received a disconnection notice may qualify for a bill credit of up to $800 — a significant increase from the $300 maximum offered last year.
In addition, the Match My Payment program will match customer payments dollar-for-dollar, up to $1,000. Customers must make a minimum payment of $50 toward a past-due balance of at least $100 to qualify. Unlike REACH, a disconnection notice is not required for participation in Match My Payment, and customers may receive multiple matches throughout the year.
Customers approved for REACH are automatically prequalified for up to $1,000 through Match My Payment, allowing for a combined benefit of up to $1,800.
Eligibility for both programs is based on federal income guidelines. For example, a family of four earning less than $128,600 may qualify for Match My Payment, which has higher income limits than REACH.
In 2025, the two programs distributed approximately $23 million in assistance to more than 64,000 customers, according to PG&E.
“We are always striving to improve energy affordability for our customers and are thrilled to expand the REACH and Match My Payment programs, in conjunction with our recent rate decreases,” said Jake Zigelman, PG&E’s Bay Area vice president. “We’ve heard from our customers and know the significant impact these programs have on them, especially during the most difficult of times, and are committed to making a difference.”
Both programs are funded directly by PG&E and are offered on a first-come, first-served basis. The company contracts with the nonprofit Dollar Energy Fund to process applications.
So while all of us pay our bills scraping by….. we let it go a couple months and get a bailout? …how about giving back the $50M to EVERYBODY …. maybe a prorated credit on the bill based on the last years usage?
They will actually do the opposite. Where they tout their new billing program… lower your rates a penny or two per kWh, or gas therm, and split out and bill separately $24/per customer for their “costs of administration.”
They could have lowered our rates by 5 cents per… —but they needed to hold back those extra cents to give to the welfare Make-a-baby – Make-a buck Gamers. Do you know how many women send the ‘current’ daddy scurrying out the back door and/or “share” friends’ kids for the “very rare” lazy-ass social worker’s home-visit and head count?
I have NO issue with giving a hand up to honest, hard working, or at least hard trying-to-get-by folks, or elderly on bare sustenance social security. But welfare, saying there is “no male-support living there” while baby making are easy games to play…and they play them well.
“We are always striving to improve energy affordability for our customers…” Then lower the dang rates for everyone!
NO DOUBT!!!
My wife and I have been in the same house for many yrs.
Not too many yrs ago if our PG&E bill was $100 I’d be pissed. Now we pay over $600 a month to these crooks. How do we pay more with all the savings LED light bulbs Energy Star appliances save, we are being raped by the criminals that run PG&E!!!
This relief program is another hand out that I’m not willing to pay, why should the hardworking residents have to pay for all the dead beats that don’t pay their bills.
I have a great idea, shut off their utilities, or set up a payment plan for them, like you used to do, quit penalizing the hardworking members of the community, that actually pay for what they use.
Our State Government is a complete abortion, Vote Republican, if you want to save our State.
Any running Republican is better than what we currently have running this Petri dish of a State!!!
Write your Congressman demanding Voter I.D.
Duck!!!
California has been sold out by the CPUC California Public Utilities Commission. Their “Green Agenda” is causing our rates to skyrocket through State government mandates & programs that are not ready for “Prime Time”, in other words the chickens have come home to roost!
AMEN!
One Summer a few years ago I had my attic re-insulated to 8″ and exterior wall “blown in” insulation, Swapped out old wall heater and installed top of the line Rheem HVAC… AND new double pane windows all around. $18,000.00 total. I had it, I spent! All of it on weatherization. All at one time!
So… How much do you think my following Winter PG&E bills went down? 🤣🤣🤪 Zip Zilch Zero. I complained. That was around the same time Concord “slammed” us into higher “green-rate” Marin County Electric! Remember when everyone was talking about all the door-knockers asking to see our PG&E bills? We thought they were saying they were with PGE, but they were mummmbling that they were with MCE…. Then, PG&E added ‘recovery’ fees for “distribution and billing!”
When I complained to PG&E, they “suggested” my payments might be easier if I went onto their measured, even amount monthly billing plan to spread the winter rape over into summer.
Now, $24.00 per mo for “administration” costs? They farm out about 90% of their “admin” work. We’re paying for multiple Third Party company employees to know when we come, when we go, when we cook, when we sleep, where we bank….!
Oh, and the people getting their bills paid for them…they won’t even get charged that $24.00! — but they’ll also get new fridge, water heater, etc FREE.
If they do that, how will they be able pay their CEO 17 million dollars a year?
How will they be able to bribe the state Democrat politicians?
pge, asks and usually gets rate increases, approved by CPUC
California Public Utilities Commission.
Five Commissioners, APPOINTED BY CALIFORNIA’S governor.
Creating stress for CA rate payers, reducing their discretionary
income and contributing to economic decline in California.
.
Those running this state (democrats) and untold unelected,
unaccountable, paperclip warrior minions, seem to be on a
never ending quest to out green the rest of the world.
.
Generation capacity, specifically built to provide added
scalable capacity (peaker plants), for periods of HIGH
demand, torn down, replaced by NON SCALABLE
wind and solar. Strange how so much of money
spent buying solar panels ended up in communist china.
.
‘Gov. Gavin Newsom’s ‘vanity trip to China’ had
‘cringe-inducing moments’’
https://tinyurl.com/553n2ekc
.
Then, there’s, wildfires,
admit am not up on total count of, THE DEAD.
.
‘ABC10 obtained 1,500 pieces of photo and video evidence used to
convict PG&E of 85 felonies in the Camp Fire, but thousands of
pages remain sealed by court order.’
https://tinyurl.com/5cdkx76u
(includes photos of EXCESSIVE wear )
.
‘… PG&E knew old power line parts had ‘severe wear’
months before deadly Camp Fire’
https://tinyurl.com/ypk8jxbv
.
“A lawsuit funded by PG&E has successfully blocked
the release of the 7,000-page grand jury transcript.”
.
Then there’s the latest FANTASY, battery storage of electricity.
Real life example of California’s storage of electricity,
Moss Landing.
Before
https://tinyurl.com/wmdnv7a4
After
https://tinyurl.com/3v9npyaz
https://tinyurl.com/3rn8kv7p
…………………
…………………
Diablo Canyon Nuclear,
‘CPUC Approves $722.6 million Rate Hike For 2025
To Keep The Diablo Canyon Nuclear Plant Open’
https://tinyurl.com/3dnccx9x
.
49.3% of pge power from nuclear.
‘Replacing Diablo Canyon Nuclear Plant with Renewables ‘Can’t Be Done’
To go 100% renewable would drive electricity prices four to five times higher’
caglobe https://tinyurl.com/ukba6pru
.
From what I’ve found Diablo Canyon has so only far been granted
a short term extension to operate.
.
Who knows, might get lucky and live few years I have left
to see green energy reveal what it’s always been.
BANKRUPT, needlessly prolonged by government subsidies.
Absolutely ridiculous to offer this. No wonder many people have figured out and are stealing electricity from their meter to cover BS like this.