SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. (CN) — California taxpayers could be on the hook for $45 billion to keep Pacific Gas & Electric’s Diablo Canyon Power Plant online beyond its scheduled 2025 closure, according to a new Environmental Working Group analysis.
The $45 billion would keep the plant running until 2045, amounting to hundreds of millions of dollars per year.
The billions of dollars in cost will be passed on to nearly 16 million PG&E customers. According to the EWG estimates, keeping Diablo Canyon open could add from $55 to $124 per year to a typical utility bill. The costs could be higher because the price tag right now is speculative, and the older the facility gets the more expensive it will be to keep it running.
“Keeping Diablo Canyon open past its closure date is a terrible idea for many reasons, including the staggering price tag that unwitting ratepayers will face for keeping the dilapidated and dangerous nuclear plant operating,” said EWG president Ken Cook. “Let’s be clear, the tens of billions it will cost to keep Diablo Canyon operating will ultimately be borne by PG&E’s ratepayers, who already pay some of the highest electricity bills in the country, while the monopoly’s shareholders will reap additional profits.”
The price does not include any extra costs that could happen following an earthquake or another disaster. Diablo Canyon sits on top of a cliff on the Pacific Ocean with numerous fault lines below, making it more vulnerable to earthquakes or tsunamis. On top of disaster concerns, Diablo Canyon might become more expensive than EWG’s estimates because it is an older plant, and older plants typically require more maintenance and security costs as they age.
Diablo Canyon was set to close both of its reactors by 2025 following a 2018 deal between PG&E, unions and environmentalists. The deal was supported by then-Lieutenant Governor Gavin Newsom, who is now governor.
That deal is now in jeopardy in the wake of 2022’s record heat wave, which triggered blackout concerns for Newsom and led him to pressure the Legislature to pass a bill that would keep Diablo Canyon open past 2025. Lawmakers approved a plan to give PG&E a $1.4 billion forgivable loan to keep Diablo Canyon running until 2030.
Diablo Canyon generates between 6% and 8% of California’s energy annually. EWG argues most of the state’s power can come from renewable sources, pointing to April 30, 2022. when 100% of California's power came from clean energy.
“Proven, reliable clean energy choices such as energy efficiency, solar, wind, battery storage and demand response are far safer options than allowing Diablo Canyon to continue operating,” said EWG senior energy adviser Grant Smith, who co-wrote the report.
In a California Public Utilities Commission hearing on Tuesday afternoon, citizens called in to leave comments about the pros and cons of keeping Diablo Canyon open. Consensus was split.
Supporters of Diablo Canyon said nuclear power is safe, cheap, and sustainable, and the plant means jobs in the San Luis Obispo area. Detractors cited issues with safety, with many railing against PG&E’s safety record. Some callers urged people to remember past nuclear disasters in Fukushima, Japan, Three Mile Island in Pennsylvania, and the Chernobyl incident in Ukraine. Many speakers noted that Diablo Canyon is aging, said solar power is safer and urged for a greener future for California.
San Luis Obispo County Supervisor Debbie Arnold called in to offer her support of the Diablo Canyon extension.
“I believe that California has made a dependable power source capable of providing uninterrupted electric service. Please allow for the extension of Diablo Canyon, whatever that’s going to take. Diablo Canyon is an important source of emissions-free dependable energy for the entire state of California,” Arnold said.
County Supervisor Dawn Ortiz-Legg also backs keeping the plant open. “Diablo Canyon is such a significant facility, not just for the county but the state of California. Whether it’s the clean, carbon-free energy or the baseline energy that it is providing, we all support the effort of the plant to continue operations for the generation of energy it provides.”
Ortiz-Legg also said she trusted the safety inspections of the facility and did not think it's dangerous.
Brett Garrett, a concerned caller from Santa Cruz, urged the plant's shutdown.
“Please shut down the nuclear plant. Take heed of the lessons of Three Mile Island, Chernobyl, Fukushima and others. Nuclear energy is unsafe. It’s especially unsafe near an earthquake fault,” Garrett said. “In this case, it’s especially unsafe in the hands of PG&E, which has an atrocious history of starting wildfires, more than 30 wildfires since 2007, and they’ve had exploding pipelines in San Bruno and Bakersfield. I know people say this plant is safe but it’s not in safe hands.”
PG&E is expected to ask for a 20-year license extension to keep the plant running until 2045, although the utility could ask for a shorter extension. The company has until the end of the year to file its application, and has notified the California Public Utilities Commission that it will pass the costs to keep Diablo Canyon open on to ratepayers across the state, even those not in the company’s service area.
Subscribe to Closing Arguments
Sign up for new weekly newsletter Closing Arguments to get the latest about ongoing trials, major litigation and hot cases and rulings in courthouses around the U.S. and the world.
Additional Reads
-
-
Great Lakes saw record low ice coverage in 2023-24 May 17, 2024
