PG&E customers skeptical of optional third-party protection plan
CONCORD, Calif. - Pacific Gas & Electric is notifying customers about an optional third-party service, drawing skepticism among them.
Customers have received letters from a company called HomeServe, which offers a monthly service for $6 that will cover water meter failures. For another $6 per month, the service would pay for certain electrical equipment not covered by PG&E.
The sign-up form, which bears PG&E-like colors, asks customers to include their PG&E service ID. The third page of the form, which appears on PG&E letterhead and signed by a vice president, calls HomeServe a trusted provider that has been thoroughly vetted.
HomeServe's charges would appear directly on the customers' PG&E bills.
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Consumer advocate Mark Toney of The Utility Reform Network (TURN) blasted the initiative saying, "PG&E executives will stop at nothing to empty the pockets of their customers."
PG&E Customer Trista Alves shared her discontent regarding the service, "It's absolutely ridiculous. I mean, even my PG&E bill right now is absolutely ridiculous. It's just, it's money gouging. It's just another way for them to make more money.
Luna Restaurant owner and PG&E customer Hamid Jacifi questioned the likelihood of needing the coverage.
"How often does this happen to your home? I don't know. One in a million. I'm no expert. I think that is bogus, just another bill that we're going to be paying for," Jacifi said.
When asked to weigh in, Concord Mayor Edi Birsan said, "Who is PG&E to go out and tell us who they trust? No. PG&E stay in your lane. You try to fix your lines. Use all your effort to fix your lines and that is where you belong."
HomeServe says it provides services to 5 million customers across 48 states has partnerships with 1300 municipal and utility entities and pays PG&E fees.
PG&E said that while the plans are optional and common among utilities, it does not endorse the HomeServe plans.