California energy regulators have hit Pacific Gas & Electric with a record $1.6 billion penalty in the 2010 San Bruno pipeline explosion that left eight people dead. But at least one member of the Public Utilities Commission thinks even more dramatic action might be needed to ensure the investor-owned utility operates efficiently and safely.

“The question may not be whether PG&E is too big to fail, but instead, ‘Is the company too big to succeed?’” said Michael Picker, president of the California Public Utilities Commission.

San Francisco-based PG&E calls itself “one of the largest combination natural gas and electric utilities in the United States.” It has more than 20,000 employees and provides gas and electricity to 16 million people in a 70,000-square-mile service area in northern and central California.

Analysts told the San Francisco Chronicle it was uncertain how the PUC might go about busting up PG&E, if it actually wanted to. But one said that reviewing PG&E’s franchise rights or even putting them up for review “is a concept that merits discussion.”