Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) this week kicks off national Energy Awareness Month by hosting events in California. The events are part of PG&E's year-round efforts to promote energy management programs that deliver rebates and ongoing cost savings to customers.

PG&E is showcasing its new Energy House Calls reality series currently featured online in which six families, including two from Fresno, learn how to become energy savvy. Host Carmen de la Paz and her crew consider each family's property, lifestyle and energy habits, and give the homes an energy makeover. All six episodes will run at a kiosk at the fair.

By raising customers' awareness about their energy use, PG&E can help them take advantage of programs that can reduce their energy usage and their bills. Through this month's events, PG&E will provide interactive forums for residential customers to learn more about how they can save energy and money—right in their own communities."

As part of a larger tour across Northern and Central California, PG&E will bring Energy House Calls LIVE to retail stores and community events. The display will feature an expert host, who will demonstrate how customers can take on projects and change behaviors to improve energy efficiency and save money. In addition, informational panels will display energy-efficient ideas and advice.

PG&E is also hosting more Energy Upgrade California Homeowner Workshops in October and November. The workshops let homeowners know how they can receive up to $4,000 in rebates from PG&E for comprehensive home improvements that can increase comfort and energy affordability. Customers can learn from others who have participated in the program and connect with a participating contractor. In addition to offering rebates, the program aims to create thousands of home-upgrade-related jobs statewide.

Working closely with third-party energy efficiency specialists and the communities it serves, PG&E helps its residential and business customers identify and implement ways to benefit financially and environmentally from energy efficiency investments. The utility administers 130 distinct energy efficiency programs, including services that help customers evaluate their options and adopt recommended solutions, as well as simple equipment retrofits, like changing light bulbs.

PG&E is a national leader in helping its customers use energy efficiency as a cost-effective way to reduce their energy bills, while helping the state achieve its greenhouse gas emissions reduction goals. Over the past 30 years, PG&E's programs have avoided the release of more than 180 million metric tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, based on cumulative lifecycle gross energy savings.