PG&E equipment is believed to have started multiple fires, including the Camp fire. I don't understand your usage of "under their control".
They are basically being penalized for being the straw that broke the camel's back.
Probably better maintenance would have helped some, but it's not like they bear all the blame for the destruction caused by the fire.
While anyone can start a wildfire, they are a large actor, which causes them. They make profit and could invest money to reduce their part in it, but as long that is an external cost, there is no economic motivation. That's not penalisation, it's economics.
Instead, the counterposition here seems to be that they should bear none of the blame, that any liability on their part is an injustice, and that refusing preventative maintenance and literally unplugging regions at risk is somehow an acceptable outcome. And that seems insane.
If they can't provide the service they're contracted to provide, they need to be regulated to be sure they do. The market has failed (and this isn't the first time PG&E got caught playing ridiculous games with regulators at the expense of customers, I was in California during the electricity crisis of 2000).