PG&E is Offering 1,500 Free Trees to Customers Through Energy-Saving Trees Program

Households in Northern and Central California can claim their complimentary tree online

OAKLAND, Calif.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Starting Monday, October 24, Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) is providing 1,500 free trees for its customers in certain locations across its service territory through the Energy-Saving Trees program. The trees will be delivered directly to the customer’s address.

Arbor Day Foundation and PG&E are partnering to locate and provide available native California trees and distribute them, as well as offering knowledge of where best to plant them. Eligible customers can sign up and reserve a tree at www.arborday.org/pge. There, you can insert your address to learn about the most beneficial location to plant the tree. PG&E’s “Right Tree, Right Place” resources provide guidelines to anyone planting any tree to ensure they do not interfere with overhead or underground electric or gas lines.

“There are many long-term benefits to planting trees in our communities, where we all live and work; including reducing your electric bill, sustaining our planet by providing cleaner air, reducing carbon emissions, and improving mental health,” said Michael Seitz, Vice President of PG&E Vegetation Management. “An online mapping tool calculates and shares the tree’s contributions to those annual energy savings, reduced carbon emissions and cleaner air, based on the most strategic location.”

Each household can reserve up to one tree through the website until all 1500 trees are reserved. Customers can select one type of trees out of the below choices, and it will be delivered directly to the customer’s address via mail at an ideal time for planting.

• Japanese Lilac
• Kousa Dogwood
• Little Leaf Linden
• Service Berry

“This program enables utility providers, like PG&E, an opportunity to become directly involved with their communities,” said Kristen Bousquet, program manager at the Arbor Day Foundation. “This unique program benefits utility providers, their customers, and the communities they serve by finding natural ways to conserve energy. The right trees in the right place provide shade to communities, reducing the urban heat island effect which could lead to a household’s reduction in energy use by up to thirty percent.”

To see how the program works, watch this 2-minute video here. For more information on the online mapping tool’s environmental calculations, visit https://energysavingtrees.arborday.org/#About

About PG&E

Pacific Gas and Electric Company, a subsidiary of PG&E Corporation (NYSE:PCG), is a combined natural gas and electric utility serving more than 16 million people across 70,000 square miles in Northern and Central California. For more information, visit pge.com and pge.com/news.

About the Arbor Day Foundation

Founded in 1972, the Arbor Day Foundation has grown to become the largest nonprofit membership organization dedicated to planting trees, with more than one million members, supporters and valued partners. Since 1972, almost 500 million Arbor Day Foundation trees have been planted in neighborhoods, communities, cities and forests throughout the world. Our vision is to lead toward a world where trees are used to solve issues critical to survival.

More information is available at arborday.org.

Contacts

MEDIA RELATIONS:

415-973-5930