REPRESENTATIVES FROM PG&E walked along the commercial corridors of San Francisco’s Sunset District last week to meet with businesses that have been impacted by recent power outages.
Friday’s merchant walk allowed businesses to get help from PG&E on filing claims for compensation, since some have had challenges due to factors like language barriers and limited technology proficiency, according to San Francisco Supervisor Alan Wong, who represents the neighborhood.
“We have five crews of PG&E staff that will be walking throughout the Sunset District to meet with merchants that have been hurt by many of the outages that have happened throughout the last two months,” Wong said in an interview.
On Dec. 20, a third of San Francisco went dark. While power was gradually restored for many, some residents and businesses in the Richmond and Sunset districts were without power for up to three days.
Since the Dec. 20 blackout, there have been additional outages in the Richmond and Sunset districts. Most recently, power went out for thousands of PG&E customers in the Sunset District on Tuesday and Thursday.
PG&E provided some compensation to those affected by the Dec. 20 outage. Residential customers who lost power got a $200 credit, and businesses that were impacted received a $2,500 credit.
But some merchants did not think the $2,500 was enough. Businesses that believed they lost more than $2,500 can file a claim with evidence documenting the losses.
“We want to be able to get PG&E directly to be here to talk to them, so that way it’s not just PG&E waiting online for claims to be filled out,” Wong said. “They should be out here because they caused this.”
PG&E representatives started their walk along Judah and Irving streets in the morning.
“The group of bilingual PG&E representatives that are out in the Sunset District today are discussing everything from claims to small business programs and are handing out bilingual information to merchants in the area,” said PG&E spokesperson Tamar Sarkissian in a statement.
At Sunset Music, a store that provides services like instrument repair and sells products such as sheet music and records, PG&E employees met directly with the store’s owner Evelyn Masuda.
Masuda said in an interview that she received the $2,500 credit for the Dec. 20 outage, but she has not had the time to file claims for additional losses. The process of filing a claim involves providing documentation breaking down the types of losses.
So far, PG&E has received more than 2,600 claims and 81% have been resolved, according to Sarkissian.
“We’re actively meeting with and supporting our customers,” Sarkissian said. “We continue to process claims related to this outage as quickly as possible.”
PG&E continued its walk from 18th Avenue and Irving Street down to 27th Avenue on Friday morning. They also planned to visit businesses on Lawton, Noriega and Taraval streets later in the day.
Wong wants PG&E to also answer for the additional outages that have occurred in the Sunset District.
“Last night, we also had another outage in the Sunset, and the night before that, we had another outage,” Wong said. “It’s getting a little bit ridiculous, and we need PG&E to get its act together.”
Simon Kuang, the owner of Foam Tea House and Cafe on Taraval Street, lost business because of Tuesday’s power outage.
“We rely heavily on online orders and digital devices for customers to place orders,” Kuang said in a statement. “Because the estimated restoration time was over two hours, we had to cancel all existing orders through our to-go apps and online platforms.”
Both of this week’s outages were caused by equipment failures and were unrelated to the Dec. 20 outage, according to Sarkissian.
When asked if claims can be filed for other outages, Sarkissian said that “anyone can file a claim and we will review each one individually.”
The outages have also renewed interest in the effort for San Francisco to acquire PG&E’s assets in the city to create a public power system independent of the energy giant.
Supervisors Connie Chan and Matt Dorsey have introduced a resolution to reaffirm the city’s commitment to acquiring PG&E’s local infrastructure. Wong has also submitted a letter of inquiry to the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission, requesting an analysis into the cost, logistics and practicality of acquiring and operating a publicly owned utility electric grid.
A public hearing with PG&E and the Board of Supervisors is scheduled for Feb. 12., allowing residents and those affected by the outages to share how they have been impacted.
