The company in charge of California’s last operating nuclear power plant is seeking new members for a stakeholders’ group focused on plant decommissioning activities.
According to an application released by Diablo Canyon Power Plant operator Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E), March 7 is the deadline for interested individuals living in the vicinity of the Avila Beach, Calif., facility to apply for a position on the Diablo Canyon Engagement Panel, a volunteer, non-regulatory stakeholder committee.
Among their responsibilities, members of the engagement panel help facilitate communication between PG&E and the Diablo Canyon community, the application said. The group also “provide[s] information to and feedback from stakeholder groups and the general community” and provide input on plant shutdown and decommissioning issues.
New engagement panel members will be selected by a group of current members and PG&E staff. The selection committee will also set term limits for prospective members, the utility said.
PG&E is looking to expand its Diablo Canyon decommissioning group even as the utility works to extend the facility’s lifetime for another half-decade.
Thanks to nearly $2 billion in bailouts from Sacramento and the Department of Energy, PG&E has applied for a plant license renewal with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission that would allow Diablo Canyon to run five years past its original 2025 shutdown date.
An extended license for the plant is far from a done deal, though — NRC in January scrapped a request from the utility to resume work on a rescinded 2009 license renewal, forcing PG&E to instead submit a fresh request. The agency is currently considering granting the company a regulatory exemption that would allow Diablo Canyon’s license to remain in effect after it expires in December 2025, while an extension is under review.
