Keeping California’s last operating nuclear power plant running past its planned shutdown date would be a tall order for the utility company in charge of the facility, its CEO told investors during a conference call last week.
Amid pressure from the nuclear industry, activists and state Gov. Gavin Newsom (D), Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E) is “exploring the possibility” of keeping Diablo Canyon Power Plant online “for California’s benefit,” CEO Patti Poppe told investors during an earnings call July 28.
PG&E’s current plan is to shutter the San Luis Obispo, Calif., plant’s two reactors in 2024 and 2025, respectively.
Although a life extension for Diablo Canyon is on the table, it is “not an easy option,” Poppe said. “[I]t will require much coordination between the state, multiple regulatory bodies and PG&E as well as many others impacted by the outcome of this decision.”
PG&E “will continue to work with the state regarding the future of Diablo Canyon and to ensure reliability,” Poppe said.
Poppe spoke to investors after PG&E said July 11 it would bid on part of a federal bailout for nuclear plants offered via the Department of Energy’s roughly $6 billion civil nuclear credits program.
A spokesperson for the utility told RadWaste Monitor at the time that such a credit would be used to “reduce costs for our customers should there be a change in state policy extending operations at the plant.”
An amendment to a sweeping energy bill still working its way through the California state house would establish a state-stewarded fund of around $75 million that could be used to extend the life of power plants, such as Diablo Canyon, that are slated for closure.
However, that legislation alone would not be enough to keep the plant running — Newsom’s cabinet secretary Ana Matosantos told the Los Angeles Times in June that such action would require approval from the federal government.
PG&E applied with NRC in 2009 for an extension on Diablo Canyon’s license, but withdrew it in 2018. The utility would have to apply for a similar extension again to keep the plant online and an NRC review might last beyond the plant’s scheduled 2025 shutdown date.
As of Friday the measure, which passed the California state senate in February and was re-referred June 30 to the state assembly’s budget committee, had yet to reach the governor’s desk as of Friday.
Meanwhile, PG&E last week reported a net income for the second quarter of 2022, ended June 30, of around $536 million, or $0.25 per share, down around 6% from roughly $575 million, or $0.27 per share, during the same period last year, according to an earnings statement.
PG&E pinned the decrease mainly on “regulatory items, taxes and other miscellaneous items,” and said that losses were offset by growth in rate base earnings and cost reductions.
According to 10-Q documents from the utility, revenue for the second quarter was around $5.1 billion, down 2% or so year-over-year from $5.2 billion.
