Delivering for our Hometowns: PG&E Installs More than 5.5K Backup Power Transfer Meters for Customers in Two Years

By Paul Doherty

PG&E has installed more than 5,500 backup power transfer meters for eligible customers since launching the free offering in 2022 and plans to install nearly 2,500 more by the end of 2024.

The first-of-its-kind personal backup power transfer meter device fully integrates into PG&E’s existing electric SmartMeter system, providing customers with a safe, easy-to-use and more reliable solution for connecting backup power sources (such as portable generators, batteries, and qualified vehicles) to power devices and appliances during a power outage.

PG&E developed and tested the novel transfer meter in 2020 and 2021, and by 2022 it began quickly ramping its deployment from hundreds to thousands of customers in high fire-threat areas and those located in areas impacted by enhanced powerline safety settings (EPSS), which shut power off in one-tenth of a second or less when contact with a foreign object or a fault occurs on a powerline.

The device comes with a universal adapter allowing customers to safely connect off-the-shelf backup power sources as needed, helping PG&E’s most vulnerable customers safely and easily attach auxiliary power to their homes.

PG&E’s SmartMeter program team was awarded a United States patent for the new technology in June 2024.

PG&E recently installed transfer meters for several California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE) stations in a heavily forested region of Mendocino County along Highway 20 between Fort Bragg and Willits.

David Hawks, a PG&E Senior Public Safety Specialist, lauded the effort, which involved installing transfer meters at the residences on the fire station properties, which are used by CAL FIRE staff to support regional fire response activity.

“As a former public safety person, part of leaving your home safe and secure includes knowing that if the power does go out a backup power transfer meter will allow your family to secure alternative power safely. This provides me good piece of mind,” Hawks said.  

For Hawks, a former Butte County Fire Chief and CAL FIRE Butte Unit Chief, the experience is personal as his career spanned more than 35 fire seasons where he regularly left his family behind to fight fires.

In 2019, Hawks was honored with the International Association of Fire Chiefs’ (IAFC) Ben Franklin Award for Valor for his courageous effort—including taking lifesaving action for a mother and her newborn baby who were trapped in van after evacuating from the hospital--during the November 2018 Camp Fire in Paradise, Calif. Named after the nation's first fire chief, Benjamin Franklin, the valor award is the most prestigious honor a fire department can receive from the IAFC.

Hawks is also the co-star of PG&E’s 7 Saturdays to a More Fire Resistant Home - Bonus Episode: Get Ready! which explores property preparation best practices for wildfire season.

More than 400 generator models are included in the list of devices that are compatible with PG&E’s transfer meter. This list includes nearly all popular generator brands and the on-board generator of Ford Motor Company’s hybrid F-150 and all-electric F-150 Lightning, enabling those truck owners to power their homes with their vehicles. 

PG&E customers are encouraged to visit www.pge.com/transfermeter to confirm eligibility and request a backup power transfer meter.