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Newsom: Accountability needed, PG&E should pay customers for power shutoffs

Governor Gavin Newsom said PG&E shareholders should give customers credits on their account for the public safety power shutoffs.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Governor Gavin Newsom said Monday that Pacific Gas and Electric should be held accountable for the havoc they wreaked on much of California.

The governor urged PG&E to give affected customers a credit of $100 per residential customer and $250 per small business for their hardships caused by the shutoff.

“Californians should not pay the price for decades of PG&E’s greed and neglect,” Newsom said.

PG&E estimates that around 731,796 customers were affected by the power shutoff. 

Counties affected throughout the power outage included: Amador, Butte, Calaveras, Colusa, El Dorado, Glenn, Humboldt, Kern, Lake, Marin, Mendocino, Merced, Santa Barbara, Santa Cruz, Siskiyou, Stanislaus, Trinity, Tuolumne, Napa, Nevada, Placer, Plumas, Shasta, Sierra, Solano, Sonoma, Tehama, Trinity, Yolo, Yuba, Alameda, Alpine, Contra Costa, Mariposa, San Joaquin, San Mateo and Santa Clara.

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Newsom sent a letter to the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) to confirm there would be a review of PG&E's practices.

“PG&E’s mismanagement of the power shutoffs experienced last week was unacceptable," Newsom said. "We will continue to hold PG&E accountable to make radical changes – prioritizing the safety of Californians and modernizing its equipment.”

In July, the Governor signed AB 1054, which established new requirements for PG&E to improve safety and address decades of mismanagement. 

In his letter to the CPUC, the Governor asked the CPUC to increase its scrutiny of PG&E’s progress on long-overdue actions required under AB 1054 to make its infrastructure resilient to wildfires and avoid Public Safety Power Shutoff (PSPS).

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WATCH MORE: Gov. Newsom Q&A: New California laws, PG&E shutoffs, housing | RAW

Governor Gavin Newsom answered questions about the status of bills in California, his thoughts on PG&E and the power shutoffs, and housing costs in the state.

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