PG&E accepts Diablo Canyon decision

Pacific Gas and Electric Company and its joint parties have announced they have accepted the California Public Utilities Commission's ruling on the retirement of the Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant. The company intends to withdraw its application to the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission to renew the plant's operating licence.

Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) and its joint parties have announced they have accepted the California Public Utilities Commission's (CPUC) ruling on the retirement of the Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant. The company intends to withdraw its application to the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission to renew the plant's operating licence.

Diablo Canyon (Image: PG&E)

The CPUC in January approved PG&E's request to close Diablo Canyon - the only nuclear generating capacity in California - by 2025, but did not approve the company's proposals for the procurement of resources to replace Diablo Canyon's output. It also denied a request for funding for a community impact mitigation programme.

PG&E's made the announcement on 9 February after all the parties to its joint proposal - including unions and environmental groups - had conferred on the CPUC's decision.

PG&E 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 decommissioning plan for the two-unit plant, it said.

"PG&E remains focused on safely operating DCPP to the end of its existing licences, which expire for Unit 1 in 2024 and Unit 2 in 2025", the company said. 

Researched and written
by World Nuclear News