December 11, 2012 (BOSTON) _ State energy regulators have fined 3 Massachusetts utilities nearly $25 million for "systematic and fundamental failures" in their response to two major storms in 2011.

The penalties were announced by the Department of Public Utilities after an investigation that took more than a year.

Nstar – which provides electricity to Cape Cod, Martha’s Vineyard, and much of southeastern Massachusetts – was fined $4.1 million.

Nantucket’s electric provider – National Grid – was fined $18.7 million.

Nstar issued a statement saying they plan to appeal the fine – noting they were one of the first utilities to restore power in both storms.

Company officials say the fines don’t follow any industry practice and dismiss the efforts made by workers to get the lights back on last year.

Some customers were without power for a week after Tropical Storm irene and a surprise October snowstorm.

The fines are a bit less than the nearly $30 million recommended by Attorney General Martha Coakley.