PG&E Advances Major Claims Effort to Support Customers Affected by San Francisco Outage

A fire at PG&E's Mission Substation caused a major power outage on Dec. 20. About 130,000 customers in San Francisco lost power. It was one of the busiest weeks of the year, and crews worked day and night to restore service safely. At the same time, PG&E worked to support customers affected by the unexpected holiday outage.

To help, PG&E issued automatic bill credits. Residential customers received $200, and business customers received $2,500. Customers did not need to take any action to receive these credits. For anyone with losses above those amounts, PG&E’s claims team opened an expanded process to review claims quickly and fairly.

On Friday, Jan. 29, we also partnered with city officials for a full day merchant walk in Sunset, focusing on businesses impacted by several recent power outages. Over the course of the day, we visited more than 250 merchants along key commercial streets, including Irving, Judah, Lawton, Noreiga and Taraval Street, providing information about claims processes and small business support programs, and distributing bilingual materials.  

So far, customers have filed about 2,700 outage‑related claims. PG&E has already resolved about 86 percent of them in less than 15 days, which is much faster than the standard 30‑day review period. About 4% percent of claims have been denied, mostly because the losses were not connected to the Mission Substation outage.

“We want San Franciscans to know — we are listening and we hear you. We’re committed to earning your trust with transparency, accountability, and better service,” said Vincent Davis, chief customer officer and SVP, Customer Experience.

PG&E is also offering in‑language support and working with city officials and merchants in the Sunset and Richmond districts. The company is helping small businesses understand paperwork and eligibility requirements, including follow‑ups with customers who prefer to communicate in Chinese. Claims information for the outage is available in Chinese, Spanish and English.

PG&E has participated in office hours with a city official in the Richmond District and joined a merchant walk in the Sunset District. The company also partnered with the Community Youth Center to host a full‑day Community Coffee Connect event in San Francisco’s Richmond District. About 120 customers attended to learn about the claims process and pick up in‑language forms. Many attendees were Chinese‑speaking residential customers, showing the importance of clear and accessible communication.

“We understand that many Chinese-speaking community members have questions about bill credits and claims. Community Youth Center is proud to offer a trusted platform where community members can seek assistance and receive support,” said Sarah Wan, the center's executive director.

The event also created valuable conversations with about 30 business owners, many from the busy Balboa and Geary Boulevard corridors. PG&E also organized a merchant walk along Clement Street, which focused on about 24 businesses still dealing with the impacts of the outage.

Customers have praised the claims team for being available and transparent. Many have noted the helpful guidance they received while gathering documents and going through the process. They have also appreciated the fairness and efficiency shown in handling claims.

“It’s encouraging to see PG&E representatives come directly into our neighborhoods and engage with merchants in their own language, offering not just information but real support. Many small business owners in the city have faced significant challenges due to repeated power outages and having PG&E’s continued presence here gives us hope that our concerns are finally being heard. We look forward to working closely with PG&E on solutions that will help our community recover and grow, including programs that make energy more affordable and accessible for our merchants,” said Ed Siu, President of Chinatown Merchants United Association of San Francisco.

PG&E joined forces with the Chinatown Merchants United Association of San Francisco to host a pair of workshops designed to aid Chinese-speaking merchants impacted by the disruption. The workshops focused on educating attendees about bill credits, the claims process, and available small business resources. PG&E bilingual representatives provided claim forms and multilingual instructions, ensuring merchants could select their preferred communication language. 

Among those participating was Ms. Alice Poon, owner of Enjoy Vegetarian restaurant in San Francisco Chinatown, who shared her experience with the online claim process and praised PG&E staff for their attentive follow-up and advice on rate options.

“I submitted my claim form online, and a PG&E representative reached out to me directly to request supporting documents. They also assisted me in finding a rate plan that could help lower the PG&E bill for one of my restaurants. More business owners should be aware of the helpful services they offer,” said Poon. 

PG&E offers several resources to support customers who prefer to speak another language. This includes a dedicated Chinese Service Line at 1‑800‑893‑9555, as well as service lines in Spanish and Vietnamese. Customers who call the main service line can request interpretation in more than 250 languages. PG&E’s website, www.pge.com, is also available in 16 languages. The Claims Department includes bilingual staff who can assist customers further.

As an independent third party continues to investigate the incident, PG&E remains focused on supporting customers, completing remaining claims, and improving reliability.

Customers who have already filed a claim and received a case number can call PG&E’s Claims Service Line at 415‑973‑4548 to check their claim status. They can also request interpretation services in 250 languages.