PG&E Customer With Stage 4 Cancer Gets Power Back In Foothills After 10 Days
GRASS VALLEY (CBS13) -- More than 21,000 Pacific Gas and Electric customers in the Sierra Foothills are still without power after last Sunday's record-setting snowstorm. One Grass Valley customer in crisis, though, finally got his power back Tuesday after CBS13 made a visit to hear his story.
Patrick Franks' sister Sheryl emailed CBS13, writing, "I don't want him to die like this."
Patrick has Stage 4 melanoma.
"I have it in my brain," he says, "I have it in my lungs, and I have it in my spleen."
His roommate, Michele, has COPD, a chronic lung disease that makes it difficult to breathe.
"Michele is on 24-hours oxygen," Patrick tells CBS13, "The cancer treatment that they've got me on, one of them has to be refrigerated."
Patrick says PG&E was on his property on Friday, but told him that because the hill where his power pole is located is too steep and soggy for regular equipment.
"I know what they're up against," Patrick said, acknowledging the amount of work PG&E was facing, but, he said, "I thought people who were at risk, I thought they were a priority."
PG&E returned to Patrick's property Tuesday and had his power back on before 2 p.m.
In a statement, PG&E said, "For situations like this, we are utilizing the FREED Center for Independent Living to provide assistance to medical baseline customers in need. For customers that depend on electricity for medical devices, and are in need of assistance, they should call PG&E at 1-800-743-5000 and ask to be transferred to an Independent Living Center."