Looking to dig a bit deeper into the natural gas price spikes this winter in California, the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) on Thursday launched a multi-pronged investigation into the causes, impacts and the potential for recurrence.

In addition, the commission also intends to examine the impact of the price spikes on natural gas and electric prices, as well as on customer bills. It also is reviewing potential threats to natural gas and electric reliability, along with price volatility for this summer and beyond. CPUC plans to also investigate potential mitigations and utility communications given to customers to determine whether they were sufficient or require modifications.

California’s regional natural gas prices in December began to spike when frigid...