California regulators on Thursday ordered financial penalties and corrective actions against the state’s major investor-owned electric utilities for failing to meet guidelines in 2019 when using planned power outages as a means of reducing the risk of wildfires caused by utility equipment.

Pacific Gas and Electric Co. (PG&E), Southern California Edison Co. (SCE), and San Diego Gas and Electric Co. (SDG&E) were called out for “failing in certain respects to reasonably comply with its obligations to promote safety” by the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC).

As a result, the five-member CPUC outlined eight actions the utilities needed to take in using Public Safety Power Shutoffs (PSPS) in the future. The punitive action against the utilities is the result of a