The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) has released its June 2025 update on safety and enforcement activities, highlighting ongoing efforts to protect public safety and maintain utility reliability across the state. The CPUC’s Safety and Enforcement Division (SED) oversees these initiatives through three branches: Gas Safety and Reliability Branch (GSRB), Electric Safety and Reliability Branch (ESRB), and Wildfire Safety and Enforcement Branch (WSEB).
In June, WSEB was involved in investigating 16 utility-related wildfires and monitored four Public Safety Power Shutoff (PSPS) events. Staff reviewed post-event reports from Southern California Edison (SCE) and San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E), while also observing PSPS exercises conducted by SCE, SDG&E, PacifiCorp, Bear Valley Electric Service, and Liberty Utilities. These exercises are designed to test utilities’ readiness for wildfire threats.
On June 16, Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) paid a $7.14 million penalty following an investigation into the Edgewood Fire. CPUC staff determined that equipment failures and violations of General Order 95 rules were likely causes of the fire.
The ESRB branch continued oversight of electric infrastructure by conducting 18 audits covering distribution systems, substations, transmission lines, communication infrastructure providers, and power plants. Eleven audit reports were issued during the month. ESRB also tracked 128 outages at natural gas and renewable energy plants to ensure proper reporting of both forced and planned outages.
Incident oversight remained active with nine electric facility incident reports received along with six power plant incident reports; eleven electric incident cases were closed in June. Additionally, ESRB expanded its summer reliability program to include large-scale energy storage systems as part of preparations for peak demand periods.
For natural gas safety, GSRB reported receiving 78 incident notifications from service providers this year through June, closing investigations into 55 incidents so far. The branch handled seven new customer complaints—resolving four—and issued inspection notices along with Notices of Probable Violation letters to Southern California Gas Company.
The Mobile Home Park Utility Conversion Program continued transitioning communities from master-metered systems to direct utility service. Since launch, more than $1.57 billion has been invested statewide to convert over 96,000 spaces. In June alone, GSRB delivered an updated priority list covering approximately 168,400 spaces in mobile home parks slated for conversion.
On regulatory matters, SED contributed expertise to two rulemaking proceedings: R.24-05-023 aims to improve reliability data reporting for distribution systems; R.24-10-005 seeks updates to construction standards under General Order 95 using modern engineering methods.
Public engagement remained strong with the CPUC receiving 21 whistleblower submissions alongside four safety hotline inquiries in June.
“Through comprehensive investigations, rigorous enforcement, and forward-looking regulatory initiatives, the CPUC continues to enhance utility safety and reliability across California,” said Adam Cranfill, Information Officer at CPUC SED Monthly Reports.
