Taxpayers and Ratepayers to Be Ripped Off to Keep Diablo Canyon Nuclear Plant Running Beyond Current Licenses

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The $1.1 billion federal aid package to support an additional five years of operation of the Diablo Canyon nuclear plant takes advantage of the nation’s taxpayers. Even those not served by PG&E or Diablo Canyon (with few exceptions), will be subsidizing  an unprofitable, privately-owned utility that produces the most expensive energy in the state of California. 

Rate payers in California who are not customers of  PG&E  will  likewise be exploited. In addition to paying their own utility companies  – such as Southern California Edison or San Diego Edison – they will be charged to support the additional $6 billion (minimum) required to keep Diablo Canyon running until 2030. This amounts to over $500 for every family of four in the state. 

And since PG&E is applying for a 20-year license renewal from the ever-accommodating Nuclear Regulatory Commission, it is entirely possible that this exploitation of taxpayers and ratepayers could continue until the year 2045.

Keeping Diablo Canyon online beyond its current licenses that expire in 2024 and 2025  will crowd out and slow the development of alternatives (wind, solar, energy storage and demand response). It will depress the State’s growing renewables market, thus causing collateral economic effects and undermining the State’s goal of converting to an entirely renewable and zero carbon electric energy grid by 2045. 

According to Mothers for Peace spokesperson Jane Swanson, “Diablo Canyon is too expensive to keep running. It is dangerous, being surrounded by major, active earthquake faults. It is not needed because of new, renewable energy sources and much added energy storage capacity. It is blocking the addition of even more renewables by hogging access to the grid. Shut Diablo down at the end of current licenses – November of 2024 and August of 2025 for the two units.”

San Luis Obispo Mothers for Peace is pursuing legal actions in both federal and State agencies to stop continued operations of the Diablo Canyon plant. Go to https://mothersforpeace.org/blog/ for more information.