SACRAMENTO — The state’s Fair Political Practices Commission is investigating allegations that the California Democratic Party funneled more than $4 million in political donations from oil and energy companies into the most recent gubernatorial campaigns of Gov. Jerry Brown.

The commission notified Consumer Watchdog that it is investigating some of the allegations from Consumer Watchdog’s report released last month titled “Brown’s Dirty Hands.” That report noted that between 2011 and 2014, energy companies donated $4.4 million to the state Democratic Party, and the party then gave $4.7 million to Brown’s re-election campaigns.

The Consumer Watchdog report said that “fossil fuel-reliant” companies made their contributions as the governor was engaged in a public campaign to combat climate change.

Consumer Watchdog president Jamie Court said those contributions, from companies including Chevron, Pacific Gas & Electric Co., and Occidental Petroleum Corp., appeared to flow from the party to Brown’s campaign in almost equal amounts, sometimes in close proximity.

For example, the report noted that on Dec, 23, 2013, Chevron donated $350,000 to the Democratic Party. Seven days later, the Democratic Party donated $300,000 to Brown’s campaign for governor, which Consumer Watchdog alleges was the money Chevron intended to go to Brown after the company had already given the maximum allowed under law of $54,400 directly to his campaign.

“We can only point out the smoke coming from the house; it is up to the FPPC to go in and check for a fire,” Court said. “This is an important step for opening the books and checking to see if there is a secret ledger.”

The Fair Political Practices Commission said the agency is not investigating Brown or others in his administration. The commission does not comment on active investigations.

Brown’s office declined to comment.

Michael Soller, spokesman for the California Democratic Party, said the party has received the commission’s letter regarding the investigation and has “been cooperating fully with their inquiry.”

The Consumer Watchdog report highlighted other donations from energy and oil interests around the time lawmakers were voting on major legislation. After lawmakers approved a fracking bill in 2013 with industry-preferred amendments, the report noted that “Occidental gave $100,000 to one of Brown’s favorite causes, the Oakland Military Institute.”

The commission already has an open investigation from March into Brown’s top aide Nancy McFadden regarding a Consumer Watchdog complaint that she failed to properly disclose her stock in her former employer, Pacific Gas & Electric Co.

Brown’s office previously said those were “inadvertent filing errors” in McFadden’s state conflict-of-interest forms, and the forms were amended to show that McFadden had stock in PG&E as recently as last year but that the stock has since been sold.

Melody Gutierrez is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: [email protected]. Twitter: @MelodyGutierrez