During this time at home, MCE would like to support our customers looking to reduce their energy consumption and save money on energy bills. There are a variety of ways that you can reduce your bill through various discount programs, energy efficiency, and emergency financial assistance programs. You can learn more about these resources by visiting MCE’s Lower Your Bill page or by clicking the links below.
1. California Alternate Rates for Energy (CARE) and Family Electric Rate Assistance (FERA) Programs: These programs help qualified households receive monthly discounts on their PG&E bill based on the number of individuals in your household and total gross household income. To learn more about these programs and the application process, please visit PG&E’s website.
2. Arrearage Management Plan (AMP): The Arrearage Management Plan (AMP) is a new payment plan launched in Feb 2021 to help qualifying residential customers reduce unpaid balances (up to $8,000) on their energy bills. To qualify, customers must be enrolled in CARE or FERA. Please visit PG&E’s website for more information about the payment plan and eligibility.
3. Medical Baseline Allowance: This program provides financial assistance for residential customers with special energy needs due to qualifying medical conditions. To learn more about the program and application process, please visit PG&E’s website. Please note that PG&E has temporarily suspended the requirement to re-certify for customers currently enrolled in the medical baseline allowance program to reduce the need to visit your medical provider.
4. Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP): This program offers a variety of services to customers including the Home Energy Assistance Program (HEAP) which provides one-time financial assistance to help balance an eligible household’s utility bill, and the LIHEAP Weatherization program which provides free energy efficiency upgrades to income-qualifying households. To learn more about LIHEAP resources, please visit the California Department of Community Services & Development’s LIHEAP webpage.
5. Energy Savings Assistance Program (ESAP): Similar to LIHEAP, this program provides free energy-efficiency improvements for eligible participants to help reduce your energy bill. Please visit PG&E’s ESAP webpage to learn more about this program and eligibility.
6. Relief for Energy Assistance through Community Help (REACH): The REACH program offers an up to $300 credit to help participants pay for energy during a crisis. For more information please visit the REACH webpage on PG&E’s website.
MCE has also suspended collections until further notice during this time. For more information on this suspension and PG&E’s recent decision to suspend disconnections, please see our recent press release.
