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Utilities
Official route and working notes

PG&E

A practical starting point for gathering what you need and contacting the right team. Confirm the current account-specific requirements with the institution.

Also known as: Pacific Gas and Electric, gas, electricity

A gentle note on scope

Paperwake provides administrative guidance, not legal advice. We help you find practical next steps after a death; please confirm requirements with the official institution or a qualified professional when you need legal advice.

Have ready
Documents and details
Gather what you can before you start. The institution will confirm what it accepts.
  • The cited page asks online customers for current phone, email, account number, and ZIP code.
  • It does not list death-specific documents; ask PG&E before sending any.
Suggested order
One step at a time
Use this as a working sequence, then follow the institution’s written instructions.
  1. 01Confirm the service address is inside PG&E’s electric or gas service territory.
  2. 02If the surviving spouse wants to continue service, call PG&E to ask about transfer after a death.
  3. 03For other new occupants, ask how to coordinate stopping existing service and starting a new account on the same day.
  4. 04Confirm the effective date and any documents needed for the specific address.
Typical timing
What to expect
Timelines can depend on the product, documents, and circumstances.

Not confirmed; ask the institution for current timing.

Needs human review
Details to confirm
These points are not confirmed by the linked official guidance.
  • PG&E’s instructions are service-area specific and describe a surviving-spouse exception; ask about other relationships and account situations.
  • Typical processing time is not published in the cited official guidance; confirm timing with the institution.
Review context
Last reviewed
This date tells you when Paperwake most recently checked the guidance below.

September 30, 2026

Requirements can vary by account, location, and circumstance. Confirm the current process with the institution before sending sensitive documents.

What changed
Review notes
A plain-language record of updates to this family-facing guidance, newest first.

  1. September 30, 2026

    Reviewed the linked official US guidance and recorded account-specific details that still need confirmation.

Contact route
PG&E says a surviving spouse may call to discuss transferring service; otherwise ask how to stop the old service and start service under the new customer.

Start with the official source below and keep a note of any case number or documents the institution requests.

Open official route
Contact channels
Use the official route and ask what applies to the account.

Keep the next steps in one place

Paperwake’s free checklist helps you organize calls, documents, and follow-ups across accounts.

Start the free checklist

Sources for this guidance

Last reviewed September 2026. Confirm current requirements with the institution before sending sensitive documents.