Utility Safety Culture Working Group (USCWG)

Overview

The Utility Safety Culture Working Group (USCWG) is a collaborative forum led by the Safety Policy Division (SPD) of the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC).

The USCWG brings together utilities, regulators, and stakeholders to support continued safety culture improvement across California’s energy utilities through collaboration, shared learning, and non-punitive engagement.

Why it Matters

A healthy safety culture helps prevent incidents, protect workers and the public, improve accountability, and strengthen long-term operational safety across the utility industry.

Background

In January 2025, the CPUC issued Decision D.25-01-031 adopting a new Safety Culture Assessment Framework for California’s large investor-owned utilities (IOUs), including:

• Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E)
• Southern California Edison Company (SCE)
• San Diego Gas & Electric Company (SDG&E)
• Southern California Gas Company (SoCalGas)

As part of this decision, the CPUC established the USCWG to:

• Support implementation and ongoing development of the Safety Culture Assessment Framework
• Promote collaborative engagement and shared learning among stakeholders

The working group includes representatives from:

• CPUC Safety Policy Division
• Office of Energy Infrastructure Safety
• Large Investor-Owned Utilities (IOUs)
• Cal Advocates
• Other interested stakeholders and entities

For a list of participants, see USCWG distribution list. (Updated on 05/14/2026)

Mission

The USCWG supports continued safety culture improvement across California’s energy utilities by fostering collaboration, transparency, learning, and continuous improvement.

Goals and Principles

The USCWG operates under a broad set of goals and principles adopted by the CPUC and aimed at guiding the Framework’s implementation, its ongoing development, and the group’s collaborative engagement. A summary of these include:

How the Working Group Operates

The USCWG serves as a collaborative learning forum where participants can openly explore ideas, share experiences, and engage in constructive dialogue designed to:

• Facilitate implementation of the Safety Culture Assessment Framework
• Build shared understanding of safety culture concepts and improvement strategies
• Refine the Framework and assessment processes through feedback and shared learning
• Engage constructively on assessment outcomes
• Identify and share best practices and resources

Engagement Expectations

The USCWG follows engagement practices intended to support trust, transparency, accountability, and constructive collaboration.

For complete set of engagement expectations, see: USCWG engagement expectations.

Meeting Structure and Facilitation

The USCWG is led by the CPUC’s Safety Policy Division and supported by an independent external facilitator.

Meetings are generally held quarterly through virtual sessions, with additional meetings and occasional in-person sessions as needed.

Alignment

The USCWG’s work is grounded in the Safety Culture Assessment Framework and informed by established industry practices, including safety culture principles derived from nuclear safety and human and organizational performance practices.

Participants are expected to align with the Framework’s guiding principles and contribute to its continued development through collaboration and shared learning.

The USCWG supports, but does not replace, the responsibility of utilities to own and manage their internal safety culture.

Additional Resources

The following materials support the USCWG’s work and ongoing learning: 

• USCWG Work Plan: Preliminary multi-year workplan containing the USCWG’s efforts and priorities. 
• D.25-01-031: Adopting a Safety Culture Assessment Framework for Large IOUs: CPUC decision creating the USCWG and adopting the framework which the USCWG will support implement and evolve. 
• Continued Utility Safety Culture Improvement Cycle: Cycle illustrating the continued improvement process for utility safety culture based on the Plan Do Check Act principle and overlayed with the CPUC’s framework. 
• CPUC’s 10 Traits of a Healthy Utility Safety Culture (Normative Framework). Adapted from the model developed for the nuclear industry by the USNRC, this framework describes traits and attributes of a healthy utility safety culture which serve as the basis for assessing IOU’s safety culture. 
• Large Utility Safety Culture Assessment Approach and Monitoring Process: Process flow Illustration integrating the Framework’s components. 
• Canadian Energy Regulator (CER) – The Learning Portal:
  A resource to improve understanding of safety culture and organizational factors aligned with the USCWG’s application of safety culture concepts and best practices.
• North American Regulator’s Working Group on Safety Culture (NARWGSC):
  A collaborative group of regulators, including the CPUC, focused on advancing safety culture practices. 

Participation and Contact

The USCWG welcomes participation from interested stakeholders.

New participants should review the Kick-Off Meeting (6/12/2025) session found under the "Past Events Section" before attending future meetings.

For more information or if interested in participating, please contact: USCWG@cpuc.ca.gov