The Pioneer Community Energy (Pioneer) Board unanimously approved a resolution to provide bill forgiveness on the Pioneer generation portion of its customer bills from July to August 2021 for customers whose residences were destroyed in the River Fire. The Pioneer Board approved an amount not to exceed $50,000 in total.
“As a community-owned organization, Pioneer can step up to provide assistance to our customers in times of need,” said Jim Holmes, Placer County District 3 Supervisor and Pioneer Board Chair. “Pioneer has a number of programs to help customers with their utility bills. Waiving the July and August generation charges for our customers who lost their homes was the right thing to do.”
PG&E is currently working with CalFire to confirm which accounts have been closed because of the River Fire. Once the list has been confirmed, Pioneer will initiate the bill forgiveness.
The River Fire started near the Colfax area on August 4, 2021 and burned 2,619 acres according to CalFire. It burned for nine days, affecting both Placer and Nevada Counties. CalFire reported 21 structures damaged and 142 residential, commercial and other buildings destroyed.
About Pioneer: Pioneer is a community-owned, not-for-profit agency serving unincorporated Placer and El Dorado Counties, and the incorporated areas of Auburn, Colfax, Lincoln, Loomis, Placerville, and Rocklin. Pioneer currently serves more than 94,000 residential and commercial accounts and will begin serving the 68,000 accounts in El Dorado County and Placerville in January 2022. Pioneer was formed to provide electric generation at stable rates, while offering programs that deliver economic and workforce benefits for the local community.