SB 418,
as amended, Jackson. Energy:begin delete reports.end deletebegin insert nuclear fission powerplants.end insert
(1) Under existing law, the Public Utilities Commission, commonly known as the PUC, has regulatory authority over public utilities, including electrical corporations, as defined. The Public Utilities Act prohibits any electrical corporation from beginning the construction of, among other things, a line, plant, or system, or of any extension thereof, without having first obtained from the PUC a certificate that the present or future public convenience and necessity require or will require that construction. A violation of the act, or an order, decision, rule, direction, demand, or requirement of the PUC is a crime.
end insertbegin insertExisting federal law requires an operator of a nuclear fission thermal powerplant to obtain from the federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission a license for the operation of the powerplant.
end insertbegin insertThis bill would enact the Nuclear Energy Planning and Responsibility Act and would require the PUC to require an applicant electrical corporation applying for ratepayer funding, or reopening an existing application for ratepayer funding, for the relicensing of a nuclear fission thermal powerplant with a generation capacity of 50 megawatts or greater by the federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission, to submit a detailed study of the project needs and costs in order to assess the cost-effectiveness of the continued operation of the nuclear fission thermal powerplant. The bill would require the PUC to make the study available on its Internet Web site and to independently review the study to assess the cost-effectiveness of the continued operation of the nuclear fission thermal powerplant. Because a violation of this provision would be a crime, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program.
end insertbegin insert(2) The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.
end insertbegin insertThis bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.
end insert(1) Existing law requires the Independent System Operator, in consultation with the California Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission, the Public Utilities Commission, the Western Electricity Coordinating Council, and concerned regulatory agencies in other western states, to provide a specified report to the Legislature and to the Oversight Board within 6 months after the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission approved the Independent System Operator.
end deleteThis bill would repeal this provision.
end delete(2) Existing law requires the Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development to consult with the Legislative Analyst’s Office, among others, to review and identify efficient and cost-effective methods for the state to create jobs in advanced manufacturing and report its findings to the Legislature by January 1, 2017.
end deleteThis bill would repeal this provision.
end deleteVote: majority.
Appropriation: no.
Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: begin deleteno end deletebegin insertyesend insert.
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
This act shall be known, and may be cited, as the
2Nuclear Energy Planning and Responsibility Act.
begin insertSection 1091.5 is added to the end insertbegin insertPublic Utilities Codeend insertbegin insert,
2to read:end insert
(a) Upon application to the commission for ratepayer
4funding, or reopening of an existing application for ratepayer
5funding, for the relicensing of a nuclear fission thermal powerplant
6with a generation capacity of 50 megawatts or greater by the
7federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission, the commission shall
8require the applicant electrical corporation operating the nuclear
9fission thermal powerplant to submit a detailed study of the project
10needs and costs in order to assess the cost-effectiveness of the
11continued operation of the nuclear fission thermal powerplant.
12(b) The study shall include, but is not limited to, all of the
13following areas of concern for the relicensing period:
14(1) The effect of the nuclear fission thermal powerplant on
15system reliability and the affordable supply of electricity, including
16planned provisions for emergency operations and unplanned
17shutdowns as well as the costs of replacement power.
18(2) The costs attributable to major disruptions in electrical
19generation due to aging or major seismic events that may require
20repair, replacement, or retrofit in excess of fifty million dollars
21($50,000,000) at the nuclear fission thermal powerplant.
22(3) The costs of responding to, or mitigating for, any new state
23or federal requirements that have arisen or are anticipated to
24become enforceable during the period of the license extension.
25(4) Potential costs and impacts associated with current and
26accumulating high-level radioactive waste and its ongoing storage
27at
the nuclear fission thermal powerplant during the relicensing
28period.
29(5) Potential costs associated with mitigation or alternatives to
30the use of once-through cooling at the nuclear fission thermal
31powerplant as required by state or federal law.
32(6) Potential costs associated with expanding and maintaining
33emergency planning zones in compliance with state or federal
34regulations.
35(7) Costs associated with achieving compliance with
36requirements for a federal consistency certification granted by the
37California Coastal Commission to the electrical corporation,
38required for the relicensing of the nuclear fission thermal
39powerplant by the federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
P4 1(c) The commission shall make the study publicly available on
2its Internet Web
site and shall independently review the study to
3assess the cost-effectiveness of the continued operation of the
4nuclear fission thermal powerplant.
No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to
6Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution because
7the only costs that may be incurred by a local agency or school
8district will be incurred because this act creates a new crime or
9infraction, eliminates a crime or infraction, or changes the penalty
10for a crime or infraction, within the meaning of Section 17556 of
11the Government Code, or changes the definition of a crime within
12the meaning of Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California
13Constitution.
Section 350 of the Public Utilities Code is
15repealed.
Section 1 of Chapter 677 of the Statutes of 2012 is
17repealed.
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