SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--
Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) and the joint parties today
announced they will not seek a California Public Utilities Commission
(CPUC) rehearing on the Diablo Canyon Power Plant (DCPP) joint proposal
decision, and in accepting the CPUC’s ruling to retire DCPP, PG&E will
now withdraw its license renewal application at the Nuclear Regulatory
Commission (NRC).
PG&E remains focused on safely operating DCPP to the end of its existing
licenses, which expire for Unit 1 in 2024 and Unit 2 in 2025.
Today’s announcement comes after all the parties had the opportunity to
confer following the CPUC’s January 11, 2018, vote on the DCPP joint
proposal agreement.
In its decision, the CPUC approved several key elements of the
agreement, including approval to cease plant operations once the NRC
operating licenses expire. The Commission also authorized an employee
retention program to maintain the plant’s highly skilled workforce to
continue safely operating the facility, and expressed its intention to
avoid any increase in greenhouse gas emissions resulting from the
closure of DCPP.
PG&E also announced today that it will now move ahead with establishing
a community engagement panel to provide input from and disseminate
information to the community to help inform the site-specific DCPP
decommissioning plan. Among the areas that will be examined by the panel
is the future use of the site and PG&E lands that surround the plant.
As for the remaining goals that were proposed in the original joint
proposal agreement, including economic support for the greater San Luis
Obispo County community and a specific plan for replacing DCPP with
greenhouse gas-free energy resources, PG&E and the joint parties stated
they are supportive of other pathways to achieve these objectives,
including through existing CPUC regulatory proceedings and potential
state legislation.
About the Joint Proposal
California's energy landscape is changing dramatically. State policies
that focus on renewables and energy efficiency, coupled with projected
lower customer electricity demand in the future, will result in a
significant reduction in the need for the electricity produced by DCPP
past 2025.
Reflecting this change, PG&E partnered with labor and leading
environmental organizations in 2016 on a joint proposal that would
increase investment in energy efficiency and renewables while retiring
DCPP at the end of its current Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC)
operating licenses, which expire in 2024 and 2025.
The parties to the DCPP joint proposal include PG&E, International
Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 1245, Coalition of California
Utility Employees, Friends of the Earth, Natural Resources Defense
Council, Environment California, California Energy Efficiency Industry
Council and Alliance for Nuclear Responsibility.
Recognizing that the procurement, construction and implementation of a
GHG-free portfolio of energy efficiency and renewables would take time,
the joint parties agreed to support PG&E in obtaining the state
approvals needed to operate DCPP to the expiration of its current NRC
operating licenses.
This avoided an early shutdown of DCPP and associated negative economic
and social impacts, including replacing the plant's output required to
meet customer demand with non-greenhouse gas-free resources.
The joint proposal also proposed support for a successful transition for
DCPP employees and the greater San Luis Obispo County community.
The $85 million community impact mitigation program would support the
community with its transition and provide funding to support essential
public services that the plant and the local community rely upon.
The DCPP employee program would provide incentives to retain employees
during the remaining operating years of the plant, and a retraining and
development program to facilitate redeployment of a portion of plant
personnel to the decommissioning project or other positions within the
company.
PG&E does not believe long-term customer rates would increase as a
result of the joint proposal.
About PG&E
Pacific Gas and Electric Company, a subsidiary of PG&E
Corporation (NYSE:PCG), is one of the largest combined natural gas
and electric energy companies in the United States. Based in San
Francisco, with more than 20,000 employees, the company delivers some of
the nation's cleanest energy to nearly 16 million people in Northern and
Central California. For more information, visit pge.com and pge.com/news.

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Source: Pacific Gas and Electric Company