SDG&E has plans in place to maintain service reliability

 SAN DIEGO – With California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s executive order calling for all individuals living in California to stay at home due to the COVID-19 pandemic, San Diego Gas and Electric announced Friday, March 20, several steps the company has taken to protect the health and well-being of its employees, customers and communities and to maintain service reliability.

“We have a special responsibility to continue our operations in challenging times like these and the last thing we want our customers to worry about is having essential services like electricity and natural gas,” Caroline Winn, chief operating officer of SDG&E, said. “SDG&E has robust contingency plans in place to maintain reliable service and our highly skilled and dedicated employees will see our community through this crisis. The energy industry has a lot of real-world experience managing crises, and while COVID-19 is different, we are well prepared and here for you.”

The company has taken several steps in response to support its employees and customers including voluntarily suspending service disconnections due to nonpayment; waiving late payment fees for business customers – residential customers do not have to pay late fees; offering flexible payment plans for customers struggling to pay their bill and having employees who are able to do so work remotely.

The utility closed branch office walk-in payment locations as of March 20, and a list of alternative payment locations may be accessed on https://www.sdge.com.

The company postponed all noncritical planned outages while continuing with those related to public safety, emergencies and wildfire mitigation and implemented additional protective hygiene and safety measures for employees working in the field.

Updates can be found on social media and at https://www.sdge.com/coronavirus.

Winn said that while the company has enacted its emergency response plan, customers may see employees out in the public responding to emergencies and system upgrades related to public safety and encouraged customers to call (800) 411-7343 should they need assistance.

Submitted by San Diego Gas and Electric.