How much PG&E customers will pay to shut down California’s last nuclear power plant
PG&E Corp. customers would spend hundreds of millions of dollars to shut down the utility’s Diablo Canyon nuclear plant under a proposed settlement.
The utility said Friday it has made a compromise settlement with consumer advocacy groups on a shutdown budget that would cost PG&E ratepayers $112.5 million a year through 2027. The settlement has the blessing of several consumer groups, including the Public Utilities Commission’s public advocates office and The Utility Reform Network, according to documents filed with the PUC.
If the settlement is approved by the five-member commission, electric bills would increase 59 cents a month, said PG&E spokeswoman Hillary Bouchenot. She said PG&E customers have already paid roughly $3 billion into a trust that PG&E has established for the Diablo Canyon shutdown. Friday’s settlement, if approved, would bring total ratepayer spending to nearly $3.9 billion.
Diablo Canyon is California’s last remaining nuclear plant. The ratepayer money will be used to cover the costs of disposing of spent nuclear fuel, cleanup of the site and other expenses, and cost estimates have risen significantly in the past decade. PG&E originally sought $4.8 billion to mothball the San Luis Obispo County plant, which is due to be closed in 2025.
In a statement Monday, the Alliance for Nuclear Responsibility (A4NR) — one of the parties to the settlement agreement — said PG&E will now seek ways to transfer spent fuel from the cooling pool to dry storage within four years of the shutoff, instead of waiting seven years.
This will reduce the need for longer-term security maintenance and cooling water systems, according to the Alliance, and will save ratepayers approximately $300 million.
“Given PG&E’s woeful corporate safety record, this added measure of enhanced safety regarding the vulnerable spent fuel pools is a big victory for Californians,” A4NR Executive Director Rochelle Becker said in the statement. “A4NR is pleased that our multi-year pursuit of those concerns will also keep costs lower for ratepayers as we bear witness to the end of nuclear power in our state.”
The costs for Diablo Canyon are one of a series of rate increases PG&E has sought in the past year or so. In September it began implementing a $4.80-a-month increase to cover wildfire and storm-related costs.
In December it reached an agreement with consumer groups on a $575 million generate rate hike expected to take effect this year. The bulk of that increase — $4.90 a month for electricity and 79 cents for natural gas — would go for improving wildfire safety.
The state has said it won’t allow PG&E, which has filed for bankruptcy, to bill ratepayers for liabilities caused by the major wildfires of 2017 and 2018. In addition, the utility has agreed to a $1.675 billion penalty for the 2017-18 fires, with the costs to be absorbed by shareholders.
This story was originally published January 13, 2020 at 9:22 AM with the headline "How much PG&E customers will pay to shut down California’s last nuclear power plant."