SoCal Gas to Charge for Some Visits : Utilities: It will add “mini” branches and expand service call hours into the evening.

Southern California Gas Co. on Tuesday announced an expanded customer-assistance program that includes establishment of “mini” branch offices, evening service calls and a $25 fee for certain home visits.

The utility said it will also get into the business of connecting appliances and strapping water heaters, tasks that it does not perform now. SoCal Gas said it would charge consumers an as-yet undetermined fee for those services.

The most controversial part of the Los Angeles-based utility’s customer service initiative, which becomes effective Dec. 1, is a $25 fee that will be charged to consumers who want to arrange service calls at a specific time.

The gas company said it will continue to schedule appointments in four-hour blocks, such as between 8 a.m. and noon, for free.

“This means the richer you are, the better service you get, and that’s not fair,” said Audrie Krause, executive director of Toward Utility Rate Normalization, a San Francisco consumer group. “A public utility should treat everyone the same.”

SoCal Gas spokesman Ralph Cohen defended the appointment fee. “If we didn’t charge for the service, the costs would be spread among people who don’t want it,” he said.

Cohen acknowledged that the gas company’s new service plan was in part a response to the criticism that the utility has faced since its decision in May to close 12 of its outlying branch offices.

That criticism swelled in August when the gas company disclosed its intention to begin charging consumers for various services that it now provides at no charge--such as turning on gas flow.

Cohen said the utility hasn’t made a decision on the specifics of that plan. But, he added, “we still intend to go through with it.”

The gas company is looking for ways to reduce costs because its parent company, Pacific Enterprises, is struggling with losses and a heavy debt load. It also plans to reduce its work force of 9,691 by 500 to 600, primarily through attrition.

The outcry from consumer activists, government officials and the utility’s union caused SoCal Gas to shelve, at least for now, a plan to close more than half of its 47 remaining full-service branch offices. The California Public Utilities Commission is also reviewing the gas company’s decision to close the 12 offices.

Cohen said it was possible that some of the five new mini-branches might replace the closed full-service branches, although locations haven’t been selected. A full-service branch employs service workers, while a mini-branch employs only someone to accept bill payments.

“From our perspective, they are giving a little and taking away a lot,” said Maureen Lynch, president of the Utility Workers Union local that represents 5,000 SoCal Gas employees. But, in general, consumer activists said many of the new services planned by the gas company would benefit customers.

They include a 24-hour customer service line, the extension of service calls to 8 p.m. from 5 p.m. and the addition of 15 payment drop boxes.

TURN’s Krause said the later service hours would be a big help to people in two-income households. “I applaud them for that,” she said.