SFE visit - PG&E flat rate on gas

Today we were visited by someone from SFE California--the business card they left points to www.sfeenergy.com. The man asked to look at our last PG&E gas bill, which seemed harmless. He pointed out that our charges had spiked, and asked us to sign an application to see "if you qualify" for a flat $31.99/month gas charge. He said today he was visiting everyone on our block in downtown Sebastopol.

We took his card and asked him to come back, unsure if this was some sort of scam. Has anyone looked into this deeply enough to understand if it's legitimate? It sure felt like a sales call....

Thanks.

hmm. Simpe search and the main word attached to results is "scam".

A 1 star rating with the BBB. Bloomberg has a page on them that shows virtually no cooperate info.

A story on KRCA from a year ago.

Per my understanding- PGE charges the wholesale rate for gas. They make a profit on the transmission of the gas. But consider- it is PGE who invested in and owns these transmission lines (well, pipes).

Anyone else is using their infrastructure- and paying to use their pipes. And per my understanding, Utilities are not required to share their infrastructure for less than the rates they have to declare (and get passed, by the PUC) I would find it hard to believe they can offer any real savings. Possibly a percent or two- considerring they have little real responsibility, in well, much of any of the business.

So yes, I'd say scam.

And, somewhat off topic- I'll admit I found a new level of respect for PGE this crazy winter. They did a remarkable job despite their resources being taxed to the extreme throughout the region at many, many times this winter.