Investigation Into PG&E Shutoffs Opened By State Commission

SAN FRANCISCO, CA — A state commission has launched an investigation into the recent Public Safety Power Shutoffs by several state utilities, including Pacific Gas and Electric Company, which left more than a million people without power across California.

The investigation by the California Public Utilities Commission will look into the utilities' decision-making process before, during and after the outages, in order to determine whether the utilities complied with state regulations and were mindful of public safety.

The results of the investigation will be presented in a public report, the CPUC said in a statement.

The commission voted Wednesday to formally launch the investigation, after announcing last month that it intended to look into the utilities' handling of the shutoffs.

The utilities under investigation are PG&E, Southern California Edison, San Diego Gas & Electric, Liberty Utilities/CalPeco Electric, Bear Valley Electric Service and Pacific Power.

“It is important for the CPUC to determine if the utilities complied with using Public Safety Power Shut-offs as a last resort, and to collect the knowledge gained towards any revisions needed for next year,” Commissioner Genevieve Shiroma said in a statement.

The CPUC said it may take legal action against the utilities if the investigation finds they didn't comply with state regulations.

PG&E had no immediate response to the investigation Wednesday afternoon. The utility initiated the shutoffs during periods of high fire danger across California, in order to prevent its electrical equipment from igniting fires.

Members of the CPUC have criticized PG&E's handling of the power shutoffs — the commission's president called the situation "unacceptable" amid a wave of outages last month.

"This cannot be the new normal. We can't accept it as the new normal and we won't," CPUC President Marybel Batjer said.