Amended in Senate May 31, 2016

Amended in Senate March 31, 2016

Amended in Senate March 14, 2016

Senate Bill No. 968

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 begin delete direct the commission to require the Pacific Gas and Electric Company to submit an assessment, end delete begin insert require the commission to cause an assessment to be completed by end insert no later than July 1, 2018, conducted by an independent 3rd party, selected as specified, of the adverse and beneficial economic impacts, and net economic effects, that could occur, and of potential ways for the state and local jurisdictions to mitigate the 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 or if the Pacific Gas and Electric Company were to decide not to pursue license renewal. begin delete The bill would require the commission to consider any further assessments or reviews needed that could assist local efforts to prepare for a closure of the Diablo Canyon Units 1 and 2 powerplant. end delete

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 begin delete require the Pacific Gas
and Electric Company to submit an assessment, end delete begin insert cause an
assessment to be completed by end insert no later than July 1, 2018, of the
adverse and beneficial economic impacts for the region surrounding
the County of San Luis Obispo, and the net economic effects on
that region, 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 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, 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 begin delete decreases end delete begin insert changes end insert in local tax revenues,
begin delete decreases end delete begin insert changes end insert in workforce populations, begin delete losses end delete begin insert changes end insert in
indirect or induced economies, and potential impacts to ratepayers
from begin delete an early end delete begin insert a end insert 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
economic impacts of the decommissioning on those regions.

(4) Identification of any contingency plans that could mitigate
the adverse economic impact of a shutdown to state and local
jurisdictions, the local workforce, and entities receiving enhanced
tax revenue.

(c) (1) The commission shall begin delete require the Pacific Gas and
Electric Company to end delete 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). begin delete The commission shall make the final
selection of the independent third party from the list of qualified
bidders. end delete

(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, begin insert the Center for
Labor Research and Education at the University of California at
Berkeley, the regional economic development group of the County
of San Luis Obispo, end insert and other relevant governmental entities begin insert or
community-based organizations end insert to assist in an accurate assessment
of begin delete decreases in local tax revenues. end delete begin insert the economic and workforce
impacts of a shutdown. end insert

(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 begin delete comment,
and hold any subsequent public meetings as necessary. end delete begin insert comment. end insert

begin delete

(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 closure
of the Diablo Canyon Units 1 and 2 powerplant and make those
considerations and findings publicly available.

end delete

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 begin delete from the Pacific Gas and Electric Company end delete
on the economic impact specific to 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.