Company offers five simple ways for customers to manage their energy use and save money this summer

SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) today announced that PG&E customers saved $160 million on their energy bills through energy efficiency programs in 2014. Also through these programs, customers avoided the emission of more than 776,850 metric tons of carbon dioxide over the year – equivalent to taking over 163,000 cars off the road.¹

With hot summer temperatures in Northern and Central California, PG&E urges customers to extend these savings by taking advantage of a variety of energy efficiency programs to save money and energy as we all work together to support California’s energy future. Residential customers can save on their own terms through no- to low-cost ways ranging from different options for managing their bills to saving more by making energy efficient changes in their home.

“As we head into another warm California summer, we want to remind customers about all the opportunities to be more energy efficient and avoid leaving any amount of savings on the table. We’re here to offer our customers choices so that they have a better chance at controlling how and when they use energy,” said Laurie Giammona, PG&E's Senior Vice President and Chief Customer Officer.

Five Simple Ways to Save Energy and Money

Energy efficiency in the home can go a long way to helping customers save money this summer, especially in local communities that require higher energy use to stay comfortable during warm weather – such as using air conditioning around the clock. PG&E provides customers with different ways to help save money and energy this summer and year-round:

• Every customer can start summer with a Home Energy Checkup to ensure their home is as energy efficient as possible, which translates to potential money savings. Through this simple web-based assessment, customers answer a few basic questions about their home and habits to find out how much of their household’s energy goes to heating, hot water, appliances, lighting and other uses. Customers receive a customized list of tips to boost energy efficiency and associated cost savings within their home.
• Pools are a great way to keep cool over the summer. For customers with pools, PG&E offers a $100 Pool Pump Rebate to help them save energy with a more energy efficient pump. Customers can save up to $1000 in their energy costs per year with a new pump.
• Customers who sign up for the SmartAC program receive a $50 incentive for participating in this easy and automated program that helps prevent power interruptions for them and their neighbors during high usage times like hot summer months. After installing a free SmartAC device on their air conditioner, PG&E can automatically signal the customer’s machine to run at a lower capacity when demand is highest, if needed, to prevent an energy supply shortage from May to October. While customers can easily return to their normal settings if necessary, most participants do not notice any changes in their air conditioning.
• The SmartRate plan allows customers to pay up to 20 percent less on their summer electric bills. Customers on this plan pay a reduced rate from June through September in exchange for minimizing their electricity usage on up to 15 SmartDays – days when electric rates are higher from 2:00-7:00pm. Customers are notified in a manner of their choosing – via text, email or phone – one day before a SmartDay so they can plan to shift or reduce electricity usage the following day.
• The Balanced Payment Plan (BPP) makes customers’ monthly energy bills more predictable by helping them budget their energy costs. The plan levels out customers’ monthly payments so they don’t see big spikes on their bills if their energy usage changes significantly from season to season. As an optional program, customers can opt-in or opt-out at any time.

For more tips on what you can do in your home this summer, as well as safety tips as kids are home during the summer months, visit www.pge.com/summer.

About PG&E

Pacific Gas and Electric Company, a subsidiary of PG&E Corporation (NYSE:PCG), is one of the largest combined natural gas and electric utilities in the United States. Based in San Francisco, with more than 20,000 employees, the company delivers some of the nation’s cleanest energy to nearly 16 million people in Northern and Central California. For more information, visit www.pge.com and www.pge.com/en/about/newsroom/index.page.

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¹ Equivalency calculated through the EPA’s Greenhouse Gas Equivalencies Calculator.

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Source: Pacific Gas and Electric Company