BILL NUMBER: SB 968 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN SENATE MARCH 14, 2016
INTRODUCED BY Senator Monning
( Coauthor: Senator Jackson
)
( Coauthor: Assembly Member
Achadjian )
FEBRUARY 8, 2016
An act to add Section 712.5 to the Public Utilities Code, relating
to electricity.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
SB 968, as amended, Monning. Diablo Canyon Units 1 and 2
powerplant.
Under existing law, the Public Utilities Commission has regulatory
authority over public utilities, including electrical corporations.
The Diablo Canyon nuclear powerplant, composed of reactor Units 1 and
2, is operated by the Pacific Gas and Electric Company in the County
of San Luis Obispo. Existing law requires the commission to convene,
or continue, until August 26, 2025, an independent peer review panel
to conduct an independent review of enhanced seismic studies and
surveys of the Diablo Canyon Units 1 and 2 powerplant, including the
surrounding areas of the facility and areas of nuclear waste storage.
This bill would direct the commission to require the Pacific Gas
and Electric Company to submit an assessment, no later than July
1, 2018, conducted by an independent third
3rd party, selected as specified, of the
adverse economic impact that could occur
occur, and of potential ways to mitigate that adverse economic
impact, if the Diablo Canyon Units 1 and 2 powerplant were to
temporarily or permanently shut down before the powerplant's current
operating licenses expire. expire or if the
Pacific Gas and Electric Company were to decide not to
pursue license renewal. The bill would require the commission
to consider any further assessments or reviews needed that could
assist local efforts to prepare for a sudden
closure of the Diablo Canyon Units 1 and 2 powerplant.
This bill would make legislative findings and declarations as to
the necessity of a special statute for the Pacific Gas and Electric
Company.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: no.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 712.5 is added to the Public Utilities Code, to
read:
712.5. (a) (1) The commission shall require
the Pacific Gas and Electric Company to submit an
assessment assessment, no later than July 1, 2018,
of the adverse economic impact for the region surrounding the
County of San Luis Obispo that could occur if the Diablo Canyon Units
1 and 2 powerplant were to temporarily or permanently shut down
before the powerplant's current operating licenses from the Nuclear
Regulatory Commission expire. The expire or
if the Pacific Gas and Electric Company were to decide not to pursue
license renewal. The assessment shall include a review, as described
in paragraph (4) of subdivision (b), of potential actions for the
state and local jurisdictions to consider in order to mitigate the
adverse economic impact of a shutdown.
(2) The assessment shall be
conducted by an independent third party whose independence
and qualifications can reasonably be verified by the commission.
party, selected in accordance with paragraph (1) of
subdivision (c).
(b) The assessment shall consist of, but not be limited to, all of
the following:
(1) Estimates of any decreases in local tax revenues, decreases in
workforce populations, losses in indirect or induced economies, and
potential impacts to ratepayers from an early shutdown.
(2) A review of the economic impacts that affected the region
surrounding the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station after it was
decommissioned by the Southern California Edison Company and of the
relevant decommissioning plans of the San Onofre Nuclear Generating
Station.
(3) A review of regions in the United States similar to the region
surrounding the County of San Luis Obispo that have experienced the
decommissioning of a nuclear powerplant and of the resulting adverse
economic impacts of the decommissioning on those regions.
(3)
(4) Identification of any contingency plans that could
mitigate the adverse economic impact of an early
a shutdown to state and local jurisdictions, the local
workforce, and entities receiving enhanced tax revenue.
(c) The
(c) (1) The commission shall require the Pacific Gas and Electric
Company to issue a request for proposal for the independent third
party that will ensure that the selected party is able to make an
independent review and analysis of the data described in subdivision
(b). The commission shall make the final selection of the independent
third party from the list of qualified bidders.
(2) The independent third party
shall consult with the Board of Supervisors of the County of San Luis
Obispo, the governing board of the San Luis Coastal Unified School
District, and other relevant governmental entities to assist in an
accurate assessment of decreases in local tax revenues.
(d) The commission shall make the assessment publicly available on
its Internet Web site and place it as an item on the agenda at the
next commission meeting after the assessment is made publicly
available for purposes of collecting and recording public comment,
and hold any subsequent public meetings as necessary.
(e) The commission shall consider any further assessments or
reviews needed that could assist local efforts in the region
surrounding the County of San Luis Obispo to prepare for a
sudden closure of the Diablo Canyon Units 1 and 2
powerplant and make those considerations and findings publicly
available.
SEC. 2. The Legislature finds and declares that a special law is
necessary and that a general law cannot be made applicable within the
meaning of Section 16 of Article IV of the California Constitution
because, currently, the Diablo Canyon Units 1 and 2 powerplant, owned
and operated by the Pacific Gas and Electric Company, is the last
operating nuclear powerplant in California and its continued
operation is uncertain as Diablo Canyon Units 1 and 2 are only
authorized to operate until 2024 and 2025, respectively. Local
communities were ill-prepared and given no notice after the sudden
closure of the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station was announced on
June 7, 2013, and the state is still responding, at significant
cost, to the sudden, permanent, and unexpected loss of baseline
electricity. Therefore, an assessment is needed from the Pacific Gas
and Electric Company on the adverse economic impact specific to
an early shut down a shutdown of the
Diablo Canyon Units 1 and 2 powerplant to provide the state, and
local communities, with valuable and necessary information to plan
and prepare for that circumstance, if needed.