PG&E has got you coming and going.

If you doubt that, ask Susan Dell’Osso.

The project manager for River Islands at Lathrop has 20 abandoned PG&E power poles that need to be removed along Paradise Road as well as along Paradise Cut.

The request has been lingering for close to a year with a cost estimate provided by the utility to do the work coming in north of $100,000.

River Islands checked with contractors who said they could do the job for $5,000 — if they could. The problem is PG&E crews have to remove their own equipment.

PG&E hasn’t provided electricity to much of the 4,800-accre Stewart Tract where River Islands is located for more than four years.

That’s because River Islands working with the Lathrop Irrigation District with the assistance of South San Joaquin Irrigation District know how brought less expensive electricity to Stewart Tract.

LID currently has rates 5 percent below PG&E. As more customers come on line — there are currently 1,800 with close to 15,000 expected at the build out of the multi-use planned community over the next 20 years— the rates are expected to be as much as 25 percent less than PG&E.

Actually, River Islands customers may not have to wait for more than a year to get rates between 10 and 15 percent lower than PG&E. That’s because PG&E has a mega-rate increase of 12.8 percent pending before the California Public Utilities Commission they want to slap on their customers in 2020. The entire rate hike is to upgrade their delivery system that is rifled with safety and aging issues such as those that led to the deaths of 85 people, the destruction of 14,000 homes, and another 5,000 structures lost to fire 14 months ago in Butte County.

It should be noted all of the LID power lines — except for the transmission line that connects to the LID substation on the eastern end of Stewart Tract — are all buried.

Fortunately for River Islands, they didn’t need any large distribution lines moved. The City of Manteca in June was slapped with a $4 million bill from PG&E to relocate four power poles along Union Road in order for interchange work to proceed at the 120 Bypass and Union Road.

Union Road was where the city in 2008 after making a deposit months in advance had to wait more than six months beyond the time PG&E promised to have  two power poles relocated that were in the middle of the widened street put in place for the opening of The Promenade Shops at Orchard Valley. To get the street open to traffic, concrete barricades were placed around the poles until PG&E got around to removing them.

Manteca has been waiting now for almost six months to have electricity connected to overhead crosswalk flash lights installed for safety reasons on Woodward Avenue at Wellington Avenue. Manteca did what it was supposed to do:  The city scheduled the work well in advance, made a deposit, and then awarded the contract with the lowest bidder to do the work around PG&E’s timetable.

It gets worse. Based on PG&E’s track record the two overhead crosswalk safety flashing lights on Yosemite Avenue in front of Manteca High at Garfield Avenue as well as Sherman Avenue that are already installed likely won’t be working by the time the next school year rolls around.

Developers and farmers trying to get PG&E connections in place have similar horror stories with some even where they paid 100 percent of the cost upfront a year ahead of time and still PG&E failed to deliver.

Keep in mind PG&E doesn’t perform the work referred to by financing it with monthly rates but what they charge jurisdictions, developers, and farmers to do the actual work plus a tidy PG&E-sized profit.

Of course if you didn’t run PG&E construction staffing thin you might not be able to allow Wall Street hedge funds suck up as much money as possible.

The laugh ultimately will be on PG&E.

Not only did they lose out on new growth when LID carved out existing service territory just as SSJID is trying  to do, but they will soon lose a big seasonal power consumer — Dell’Osso Farms.

The people that bring you the annual Pumpkin Maze and Holidays on the Farm have installed enough solar panels atop the roof over the snow hill to generate a half megawatt of power.

That will reduce money going to PG&E especially given the snow making machines consume electricity like there is no tomorrow.

The farm is already within the LID service territory. The California Public Utilities Commission just has to OK the request for Dell’Osso Farms to switch retail electric providers.

To contact Dennis Wyatt, email dwyatt@mantecabulletin.com