California Public Utilities Commission sanctions PG&E over power outages

SAN FRANCISCO -- California's utility regulator is issuing a series of sanctions against PG&E for what it calls failures in execution'' during the largest planned power shut-off in state history to avoid wildfires.

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California Public Utilities Commission President Marybel Batjer says the utility must have a goal of restoring power within 12 hours instead of its current 48 hours, minimize the scale of outages and improve communication.

PG&E last week took the unprecedented step of cutting power to more than 700,000 customers, affecting nearly 2 million Californians. The company did it because of dangerous wind forecast but acknowledged that its execution was poor.

RELATED: California Gov. Gavin Newsom demands PG&E compensate customers affected by power shutoffs

Its website frequently crashed, and many people said they did not know the power was going out.

PG&E didn't immediately comment on the sanctions.

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For the latest stories about PG&E's Public Safety Power Shutoff go here.