SAN FRANCISCO – Regulators charged with oversight of California’s investor-owned electric companies failed to ensure steps were being taken to mitigate the risks of wildfires caused by damaged power lines, finds a state auditor’s report released today.
At the center of the sweeping report by acting California State Auditor Michael Tilden is the California Public Utilities Commission, or CPUC, and the Office of Energy Infrastructure and Safety, or Energy Safety Office. The CPUC “did not audit all utility service territories on a consistent basis, did not audit several areas that include high fire-threat areas, and has not used its authority to penalize utilities when its audits uncover violations,” it says.
California has been plagued by wildfires for years, in part due to hapless energy infrastructure management from utilities like Pacific Gas & Electric, or PG&E.
“Given the nightmarish wildfires that have become part of normal life in recent years, California taxpayers would be right to ask if they’re paying for utility watchdogs or lapdogs at the CPUC and the Energy Safety Office,” said EWG President and Bay Area resident Ken Cook. “The failure of regulators to aggressively oversee and punish the reckless and deadly behavior of companies like PG&E cannot be overstated, and Californians should be clamoring for accountability.”
The audit identified several critical failures by both agencies in the analysis, including:
- Utilities need to make further improvements to the electrical grid to reduce the risk of wildfires and prevent power shutoffs and unplanned outages.
- The Energy Safety Office awarded safety certifications to utilities, despite serious deficiencies in their wildfire mitigation plans.
- The Energy Safety Office approved mitigation plans and issued the 2020 safety certifications, despite significant shortcomings in those mitigation plans.
- The Energy Safety Office’s mitigation plan approval process and the CPUC’s audit process do not hold utilities sufficiently accountable.
- The Energy Safety Office’s 2022 guidelines do not require, as a condition for approving mitigation plans, that utilities clearly delineate how they will prioritize their mitigation work.
- The CPUC conducts audits that assess whether utilities are in compliance with certain requirements, but it does not routinely audit all areas in the utilities’ service territories, and it does not use its authority to penalize utilities when its audits uncover violations.
###
The Environmental Working Group is a nonprofit, non-partisan organization that empowers people to live healthier lives in a healthier environment. Through research, advocacy and unique education tools, EWG drives consumer choice and civic action.
