California Wildfire Utility Bill, Deposit & Reconnection Protections
Utilities & Energy AssistanceLIHEAP / Energy Assistance
About
- Summarizes California utility protections triggered by wildfire/disaster emergencies, including service, billing, deposit, reconnection and payment-plan protections for affected customers, depending on utility and account circumstances.
Eligibility — Participant Type
- Applicant must be an affected customer of a utility subject to the applicable California disaster consumer protections.
Eligibility — Residency
- The customer must be in an affected area covered by wildfire/disaster emergency protections.
Benefits
- Varies by utility/account; protections can include waived deposits/fees, stopped billing for unserviceable homes, payment arrangements and, for some water customers who lost homes, waived bills. (Applied to the account during the qualifying disaster protection period.)
- Utility bill, deposit, reconnection, disconnection and payment-plan protections
Documents needed
- Customers generally identify the affected utility account/service address and request the applicable protection; utilities may request disaster/account verification.
How to apply
- contact utility
- Processing time: Utility adjustments may be immediate or require account review; CPUC complaint timing varies.
