SAN FRANCISCO – California regulators today granted Pacific Gas & Electric’s misguided and dangerous request to extend the operation of its aging Diablo Canyon nuclear plant five years beyond the originally scheduled closure, in 2025.
“This ill-conceived decision will further escalate financial strain on California ratepayers and extend the threat of a catastrophe at Diablo Canyon,” said Environmental Working Group President and Bay Area resident Ken Cook.
“With California's annual renewable energy additions exceeding Diablo Canyon’s output, there is zero reason to keep it running,” he added.
Today’s decision by members of the California Public Utilities Commission, or CPUC, was set in motion more than a year ago. California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D), fearing political backlash to the rolling blackouts of summer 2022, at that time pushed state lawmakers to approve Senate Bill 846 – legislation to keep the plant running until at least 2030, five years beyond its original target closure date.
"The commission might need to take stock of its supply of PG&E rubber stamps and place that order sooner rather than later, especially before the holiday rush really picks up,” said Cook. "A fresh batch will likely be needed for the anticipated giveaways in 2024."
The CPUC has spent much of 2023 greenlighting a host of PG&E plans that cumulatively are driving up electricity bills and stifling clean energy, including significant rate hikes for the utility’s captive customers and its recent plot to unravel the state's rooftop solar incentives.
A 2023 analysis by EWG estimates it could cost California ratepayers an additional $20 to $45 billion to keep Diablo Canyon operating well beyond 2025, as PG&E plans.
Diablo Canyon generates between 6 and 8 percent of California’s electricity annually, which could easily come from renewable sources like solar. The billions of dollars that would be wasted to keep the nuclear plant running for several more years would be better invested in new renewable power and other clean energy options that can benefit both the environment and ratepayers.
Noted energy analyst Amory Lovins told the California Energy Commission in 2022 that state data show that within two years of closing Diablo Canyon, the electricity generated by renewable and distributed energy could fully replace the power generation lost by closing the plant.
Mark Jacobson, director of the Atmosphere and Energy Program at Stanford University, recently noted that the California Independent System Operator – which oversees the operation of the state’s bulk electric power system – said the state added 2,500 megawatts of renewable power capacity and output in just over a year, equal to Diablo Canyon’s maximum output alone.
The federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission, or NRC, has also weighed in to help.
On March 2, ignoring long-standing precedents, statutes and regulations, the NRC gave PG&E the green light to operate Diablo Canyon for up to 20 more years without a safety review or license renewal.
In its decision, the NRC exempted PG&E from regulations that required a license renewal review by the NRC before the two Diablo Canyon reactors could operate beyond their operating license expiration dates in 2024 and 2025.
The NRC’s own rules recognize that continued operation of a reactor past that limit poses safety risks that are different from the operational risks of a facility’s first 40 years in operation and require a separate review.
In June, Mothers for Peace, Friends of the Earth, and EWG filed a lawsuit with the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, objecting to the NRC’s decision to extend PG&E’s operating licenses of Diablo Canyon without first conducting the comprehensive safety and environmental review or offering a public hearing. Both are required by the federal Atomic Energy Act and National Environmental Policy Act as conditions of renewal of PG&E’s operating licenses for the twin reactors. Oral arguments in the case will occur on January 10, 2024.
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The Environmental Working Group (EWG) is a nonprofit, non-partisan organization that empowers people to live healthier lives in a healthier environment. Through research, advocacy and unique education tools, EWG drives consumer choice and civic action.
