PG&E offering free trees to customers through new program
Households in Central California can claim a complimentary tree online
– Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) is currently providing 1,500 free trees for its customers in Central and Northern California 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 the two-minute video below. For more information on the online mapping tool’s environmental calculations, visit https://energysavingtrees.arborday.org/#About
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