PG&E sucks!

[CountAllVotes]

This company or whatever it really is (a pocked picker at the least!) is so disgusting.

My friend in S.F. lives in a small house and the bill was over $700 a month this past month!

Mine was not that high because I have not been running the heat.

A house at 61 degrees is nearly unlivable!

My bill isn't that high being I have not been running the heat but how many layers of clothes can one wear and how many blanket can one have on their bed?

I cannot have very many due to the polyneuropathy that is in now in my feet and I must try to sleep with one leg elevated on a pillow for relief as there is nothing that can be done for it and blanket weight just adds to the pain and then I cannot sleep at all!

There is a PG&E assistance number that you can only call on Mondays from 9-10 a.m. You must dial and redial and hope you will get through. I've been trying every Monday and cannot get through and some how I left a message on a machine I got and they returned my call telling me to call a different phone number in May as I am not eligible for any help right now.

They has a list of people that don't have to call for assistance. It used to be for senior citizens and the disabled. Now it is for those 70 and over now. Will I live to see 70? I might but if I believe the statistics, I will not.

Has anyone else noticed that these age-based "benefits" keep going up based on age? My time is about up as the illness I have knocks about 5-10 years off of your life and that time is now. Dad lived to be 75; mother 77. I am 68. With a little simple addition, my time is about up!

This is so disgusting!

I hope I am not alone in my disgust for this company!

Why should anyone's rent be more than their PG&E bill?

And yes, they will get bailed out again when they go bankrupt again!

*grr*

Thanks for reading this!

CountAllVotes
+ three old kitties that have all been sick

[dalton99a]

1. They own the California Public Utilities Commission.

[Sympthsical]

9. Yup

[jimfields33]

2. How old is her heater? The older it is the more costly to run.

Mine was 200 for the first time in 10 years. However it’s been a colder winter.

[Hope22]

31. My guess if she can't afford the heat

A new furnace will be way out of price range. That’s the tricky part. People can live in a paid off house but can they afford to replace the roof, furnace, stove, washer, dryer or siding?

[Hope22]

36. Lol...I forgot real estate taxes!!

[jimfields33]

38. I know. That sucks.

[oregonjen]

3. PGE in the Portland Metro area just had a rate hike 18%

People around the area are getting astronomical bills thanks to the rate hike and the very cold weather we had a month ago.
I feel you!

[kimbutgar]

4. My bill last month was $400 usually $150

I rarely put on my heater but my husband turns it in the moment he walks in after work. I am betting my bill any day and I know it’s going to be at least $500 !

PG&E should go back to be a non for profit utility and not a publicly traded one.

[CountAllVotes]

5. Disgusting

God fucking damnit!

[Sympthsical]

6. It is baffling this company owns Sacramento the way it does.

I have to be a bit careful of my criticism. (Actually got a sanction for going to town on them once).

But yes. PG&E pays everyone, and the average working taxpayer gets to take it up the keister every single time. It's glorious.

We had solar installed two or three years ago, so our bills are pretty low. But let us tell you what a hurdle PG&E was in getting that done. This past December, that three week period of, "Why is it 30 degrees every morning in Napa?" kind of had us running our central furnace for about 20 mins in the mornings just to get the chill out of the house. Yeah. That bill leapt above what we generally pay. To a shocking degree. Really? Just for running heat for 20 mins a day for a few weeks?

We use electric space heaters on account of the solar. One in bedroom, one in each home office. It's where we spend 90% of our home time anyway.

I cannot imagine our bill if we actually ran our furnace like normal people. Right now, our bill is about $100 a month. And we only had to spend close to $18,000 to get it that way!

PG&E: "Suck it, poors!"

[CountAllVotes]

11. I don't care

Call them out!

I don't care what party "they" belong to!

The don't care!

They HAVE everything THEY need just like they always have!

FUCK THEM!

[obamanut2012]

17. SMUD "owns" Sac, not PG& E

Some folks in greater Sac have them, especially for gas, but not power. SMUD is glorious, PG&E suck. Better customer service, some of the lowest rates in the US.

Al,msot everyone in Sacramento has their power back now, most of PG&E's customers in West sac and thec ounty do not.

[Sympthsical]

20. I meant Sacramento in the legislature sense

But that sounds like PG&E. Here, we have a transformer blow every three or so months. Like clockwork.

It's a baffling company.

[CountAllVotes]

7. The is no power in half of the kitchen right now

I called PG&E and some guy shows up and tells me I need some sort of outlet installed and that he would help me but he is not allowed to do that!

It requires that you shut-off the power in the entire house and then remove the old outlet and install this other one that has colored wires on it.

I AM NOT AN ELECTRICIAN!

So, now I have no power in half of my kitchen!

I CANNOT do this myself!

How much will an electrician charge me to come and install this outlet?

It has a reset button in it and two buttons, one red and one black.

I have no idea what to do as I was not trained to do such things.

So PG&E sends some guy over here that can do it in "five minutes" I was told.

Well, me cannot as I am visually impaired and my hand are so numb I can barely type any longer.

Wow does life ever suck for me right now.

[usonian]

14. Yikes, where do you live? Nearby?

Does not have to shut down the house, just pull the breaker on that line.
Replace old outlet with Ground Fault Circuit Interrupter (GFI, or GFCI)
I am not a licensed electrician.

[CountAllVotes]

15. That is what is is

I have the part in my living room.

HOPEFULLY, this man it coming to install it later today.

He's with a place that helps senior citizens and the disabled.

When he asked me how I was, I lied and said, "ok".

I live in the far northwest of Calif. in a rural area.

I hope he can get the new outlet installed.

Thank you for the input!

[usonian]

19. Best of luck. I hope you get a low cost installation.

I'd be there but I'm in the foothills in Central CA. Socked in!

My double-wide was built with GFCI's in the kitchen, bathrooms and outdoor outlets. Very important, since they will protect against shock.

P.S. I had an L-shaped tube gadget lying around, which now props up a small board, which raises the blankets around the feet, so they're not getting pressured when I sleep on my back.

[Nictuku]

8. I just saw a news report that there are dozens of rate increases in store for the future

PGE sucks.

Currently I have had no power since Sunday. My house is all-electric. No heat, no cooking. I have a generator for the refrigerators and lights/internet/tv, but that is about it. Another storm on its way in. I hope we don't run out of wood for the fireplace, this storm is supposed to be colder (in the 30s over night)

[Trashman272]

37. Right there

With you. We have also been out since Sunday and are all electric with no other heat. Top it off we are on a well so it's trips to the creek to fill 5gal buckets to flush the toilet and wash up. Yeah that big rate increase really smacks me wrong.

[Stargazer99]

10. ComCast in the NW is the same - no competion so they can raise prices at their wish

all public services should be non-profit because this system takes the customer into hell

[hunter]

32. My wife and I quit Comcast a long time ago.

I was upset that they were raising the price from $29 a month and didn't appreciate the fact that some of that money was going to Fox News

This was before Comcast even offered internet service.

We get internet from another provider and usually subscribe to two or three streaming services. I try to keep streaming costs below $35 a month.

The cost of electricity and gas is another matter, especially if you rent or can't afford to upgrade your home to use less energy.

We really ought to be subsidizing energy conservation upgrades for lower income people, especially elderly people who are less able to tolerate temperature extremes.

[Stargazer99]

12. People should make it so if the taxpayer bails out a business the business should become public

owned-I am tired of welfare for businesses

[TeamProg]

29. Hear Hear! No kidding! You'd think that would be obvious. nt

[PufPuf23]

13. Welcome to Tuesday and PG&E still sucks.

Read that PG&E rates went up an average of 16% January 2024.

Fixed and low income sucks. Nothing is easy because of health and age.

Live rural where power outages are common so have propane generator and main heat is madrone firewood in a fireplace insert. Spend $300-$400 a month for firewood. Last Winter power was out so much that PG&E moved a local generator to the former local sawmill site. That generator is providing local power now. PG&E did a major and controversial job cutting "hazard" trees to reduce fire hazard from powerlines. Looks to me that much destabilized remaining trees because approach was ham-handed.

So it goes. Off to the oncologist (and Costco). Glad have a ride for the two-hour drive.

[usonian]

16. They are THE WORST.

The universe would run out of electrons if I typed in all that's wrong with them.

Management should not have been bailed out. They should be in prison for life for manslaughter. They deliberately withheld repairs and lied about inspections.

and Yes, they own the PUC lock, stock and barrel.
Another bunch of grifters that otta be in prison.
With electrified bars.

[cally]

18. SMUD is much better

After suffering with PGE for decades, we moved to an area with SMUD. We knew we were moving and are on the border of SMUD and PGE. We purposefully chose to live in an area with SMUD. I have had no blackouts in 3 years and rates are much lower!

[CountAllVotes]

21. Yippee!

Just as I found someone to come over here and install the new outlet, wahla!

The kitchen has full power *again*.

Wouldn't you just know it?

[padfun]

22. My bill was $185

And that is high for me. House is at 65 degrees but heater is new

[republianmushroom]

23. You are correct, they do suck, but, you don't know how bad,

unless you have to have them as your electric supplier.
They really do suck and their sub contractors are even worst.

[CountAllVotes]

25. They are my electric supplier!

As well as natural gas!

[republianmushroom]

26. Then you know.

[TeamProg]

24. Hate them as well. We have so many non-weather power outages that I think PG&E is coercing us all into investing into

own solar power so then PG&E can pay us LESS than commercial producers for energy to distribute power through "their grid".

[flashman13]

27. Get a card board box the size of 3 kitties. Cut a cat sized door in it.

Put a heating pad on low setting in the box and cover it with a towel. The cats being cats will immediately find it and move in. The kitties will be all toasty and happy and you will feel better too.

[CountAllVotes]

28. They prefer MY bed

They love the electric blanket!

The three of them do not get on that well.

Having all three of them w/me in a double bed w/foot propped up is barely doable!

[CaptainTruth]

30. IMHO PG&E was better before the CPUC "broke them up."

I remember when PG&E owned their own generating plants, they could control costs much better & do things like offer customers incentives to upgrade appliances etc to use less power & reduce system demand so they wouldn't have to build another generating plant.

Then the CA Public Utilities Commission decided that was too much of a monopoly & forced them to sell their generating plants. At the time there were limits on how much PG&E could raise their rates every year, but there were no limits on how much the new plant owners could charge PG&E for the electricity they generated, & of course they all wanted to maximize their profits.

The result was 100% predictable... customer rates increased, PG&E went into a financial death spiral, & the money for things like transmission line maintenance dried up, which is fine because it's not like that caused fires that killed people or anything. [sad sarcasm]

[hunter]

33. They weren't "forced." It was a way of shedding liabilities and making certain people rich.

It was predatory capitalism at its finest.

[Warpy]

34. The chilly house might be good for the cats. They're wearing fur coats

I agree that 61 is a bit fresh, but I heated with wood in New England. I wore long johns and a hat to bed because that house could get down to the 40s by morning, the fire banked and not producing much heat. Cold houses are survivable if you dress properly, heated houses are very recent inventions.

I know electricity is exorbitantly expensive in CA, it's one of many reasons I went as far as NM when I left New England. I'm living in an independent living apartment now and it has a heat pump for heating and cooling, and that thing is pretty cheap. If you own your little house, a heat pump and mini split might be an option to reduce heating costs (and cooling, if you ever need it in our changing climate). Other than that, you can do what I did in one particularly grim living situation in Boston: use a space heater in the bathroom so you've got someplace to get warm when you need to. It also makes showering a lot easier. Mine was an oil baseboard kind of contraption that came with the place.

Another way to stay warm when the t-shirt, hoodie, and oversized sweatshirt or wool sweater aren't doing it is an electric blanket. Those are cheaper than dirt to run and you can roll up in it when you're going to be sitting still watching TV or reading. Been there, done that too.

Finally, damp cold can be a killer, raising the frequency of respiratory illnesses. I'd strongly suggest you set your heat at 64-65, which will feel downright balmy after 61 and dry the place out a bit. It also shouldn't break the bank. Just taking the chill off early in the morning can do wonders for your mood, too. That plus getting the right things to layer up for warmth will help a great deal all by themselves.

It could also be a hell of a lot worse. Early settlers in New England slept in sleeping lofts. The first floor of the house was filled with livestock overnight to protect the animals and provide some heat for the sleeping settlers. Imagine having to muck out your living room, dining room, and kitchen first thing in the morning before you started cooking the midday meal. Yum.

[limbicnuminousity]

35. They're like the mafia.

Utilities in CA have been out of control for 25 years. It went crazy right around Gray Davis's term.