PG&E Fined for Worker's Electrocution

Pacific Gas & Electric has been fined $176,000 for the March electrocution of a utility worker in Benicia.

The California Department of Industrial Relations levied the fine Thursday after reviewing a Cal-OSHA report alleging lax enforcement of safety rules designed to protect employees.

Maximiliano Martinez was installing a transformer in a vault in a Benicia residential area on March 17 when the 26-year-old PG&E employee was electrocuted.

The San Francisco Chronicle says Cal-OSHA faulted the utility for what it called a "serious willful accident related" violation.

Department of Industrial Relations spokeswoman Krisann Chasarik says it's the sixth death of a PG&E employee investigated by Cal/OSHA. PG&E was found to be at fault in a 2008 electrocution that led to nearly $40,000 in fines.