How to get residential utilities up and running in Pittsburg CA

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Adulting 101, California edition!

This year, I learned how to get these utilities up and running for a residential property in Pittsburg CA. It turns out that there are three utilities that I needed to set up: water, garbage disposal, and electricity. Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, I was allowed to create my account for each utility service online rather than doing the application process in their respective offices. That's convenient because I could work on these while the little one was sleeping. Anyway, I am writing down how I enrolled to the utilities for future reference for me and to help others who are stumped... the process is quite simple.

Electricity and Gas

Daddy has an account with PG&E. I didn't have to do much about it.

Water and Sewer

For the city's water and sewer services, I was advised to fill out an application form and submit it with other documentation. The staff in the Payment Centre would then take care of processing the papers. Once my account was active, all I had to do was log in to the utility website, sign in, and set up the auto-payment option so I don't have to worry about the bill anymore.

Garbage disposal

Mount Diablo Resource Recovery handles garbage disposal and curbside pick up of recyclable materials for the city. Again, I had to submit required documentation before the service could be started at home. I was also asked which size of garbage bin do I prefer out of three options. Without thinking too much, I decided to get the smallest (and cheapest) garbage bin. Surprise, surprise! It's small. Very small. But it also means that we had to really think about what went in there; we had to start putting recyclables in the recyclables bin so that the garbage won't be filled with the wrong kind of materials.

Quite simple, really. The hassle was almost nonexistent. I couldn't help but compare to the requirements being asked of me in the Philippines when I needed to apply for internet and phone service.

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