California regulators today launched an investigation into last month’s widespread power outages. Officials said they want to know what can be done to lessen the scope of blackouts in the future.
PG&E is the state’s largest utility. It shut off power to nearly 2.5 million people in Northern and Central California.
The company has said that the blackouts kept people safe. But state residents and public officials disagreed in testimony today. They said overwhelmingly that the power outages were too broad, and that PG&E didn’t communicate well.
The company’s equipment was also found to have started several deadly wildfires in 2017 and 2018.
If PG&E doesn’t make changes, Governor Gavin Newsom has said he wants to turn the utility into a customer-owned cooperative.
