Amended in Assembly August 17, 2016

Amended in Assembly August 1, 2016

Amended in Assembly June 28, 2016

Amended in Senate May 31, 2016

Amended in Senate March 31, 2016

Amended in Senate March 14, 2016

Senate BillNo. 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,begin delete andend delete making an appropriationbegin delete therefor.end deletebegin insert therefor, and declaring the urgency thereof, to take effect immediately.end insert

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.begin delete Existing law establishes the Public Utilities Commission Utilities Reimbursement Account and authorizes the commission to annually determine a fee to be paid by every public utility providing service directly to customers or subscribers and subject to the jurisdiction of the commission, except for a railroad corporation.end deletebegin insert The Nuclear Facility Decommissioning Act of 1985 requires each electrical corporation owning or operating nuclear facilities to establish an externally managed, segregated fund for payment of decommissioning costs of those facilities, establishes requirements for collection of moneys for decommisioning costs in the utility’s rates and charges, and requires that the expenses associated with decommissioning of nuclear facilities be paid from those funds. Pursuant to the act, the commission ordered 2 nuclear decommissioning funds be established for the Diablo Canyon Units 1 and 2 powerplant.end insert

This bill would require the commission to cause an assessment to be completed by 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 when the Pacific Gas and Electric Company closes the powerplant upon the expiration of its current licenses.begin delete The bill would appropriate $400,000 from the account to the commission for additional staffing to urgently effectuate the third party assessment.end deletebegin insert The bill would require the commission to approve the withdrawal of $400,000 from the nuclear decommissioning funds established for the Diablo Canyon Units 1 and 2 powerplant for use by the commission for additional staffing to urgently effectuate the third-party assessment.end insert

This bill would make legislative findings and declarations as to the necessity of a special statute for the Pacific Gas and Electric Company.

begin insert

This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.

end insert

Vote: begin deletemajority end deletebegin insert23end insert. Appropriation: yes. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: no.

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

P3    1

SECTION 1.  

Section 712.5 is added to the Public Utilities
2Code
, to read:

3

712.5.  

(a) (1) The commission shall cause an assessment to
4be completed by no later than July 1, 2018, of the adverse and
5beneficial economic impacts, and the net economic effects, for the
6County of San Luis Obispo and the surrounding regions, that could
7occur if the Diablo Canyon Units 1 and 2 powerplant were to
8temporarily or permanently shut down before the powerplant’s
9current operating licenses from the Nuclear Regulatory
10Commission expire or when the Pacific Gas and Electric Company
11closes the powerplant upon the expiration of its current licenses.
12The assessment shall include a review, as described in paragraph
13(4) of subdivision (b), of potential actions for the state and local
14jurisdictions to consider in order to mitigate the adverse economic
15impact of a shutdown.

16(2) The assessment shall be conducted by an independent third
17 party, selected in accordance with paragraph (1) of subdivision
18(c).

19(b) The assessment shall consist of, but not be limited to, all of
20the following:

21(1) Estimates of any changes in local tax revenues, changes in
22workforce populations, changes in indirect or induced economies,
23and potential impacts to ratepayers from a shutdown.

24(2) A review of the economic impacts that affected the region
25surrounding the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station after it
26was decommissioned by the Southern California Edison Company
27and of the relevant decommissioning plans of the San Onofre
28Nuclear Generating Station.

29(3) A review of regions in the United States similar to the
30County of San Luis Obispo and the surrounding regions that have
31experienced the decommissioning of a nuclear powerplant and of
32the resulting economic impacts of the decommissioning on those
33regions.

34(4) Identification of any contingency plans that could mitigate
35the adverse economic impact of a shutdown to state and local
36jurisdictions, the local workforce, and entities receiving enhanced
37tax revenue.

P4    1(c) (1) The commission shall issue a request for proposal for
2the independent third party that will ensure that the selected party
3is able to make an independent review and analysis of the data
4described in subdivision (b).

5(2) The independent third party shall consult with the Board of
6Supervisors of the County of San Luis Obispo, the governing board
7of the San Luis Coastal Unified School District, the Center for
8Labor Research and Education at the University of California at
9Berkeley, the regional economic development group of the County
10of San Luis Obispo, and other relevant governmental entities or
11community-based organizations to assist in an accurate assessment
12of the economic and workforce impacts of a shutdown.

13(d) The commission shall make the assessment publicly available
14on its Internet Web site, distribute copies to relevant state and local
15jurisdictions, and convene a public forum in the County of San
16Luis Obispo on the findings and recommendations of the
17assessment.

18

SEC. 2.  

The Legislature finds and declares that a special law
19is necessary and that a general law cannot be made applicable
20within the meaning of Section 16 of Article IV of the California
21Constitution because, currently, the Diablo Canyon Units 1 and 2
22powerplant, owned and operated by the Pacific Gas and Electric
23Company, is the last operating nuclear powerplant in California,
24and, on June 21, 2016, the Pacific Gas and Electric Company
25announced that it would not renew its licenses for Diablo Canyon
26Units 1 and 2, which are set to expire in 2024 and 2025,
27respectively. In addition, a joint proposal governing the closure of
28the Diablo Canyon Units 1 and 2, which included an orderly
29replacement of electricity from generating resources that do not
30emit greenhouse gases and an employee retention severance
31program, was signed by interested parties. Local communities
32were ill-prepared and given no notice after the sudden closure of
33the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station was announced on
34June 7, 2013, and the state is still responding, at significant cost,
35to the sudden, permanent, and unexpected loss of baseline
36electricity. Therefore, an assessment is needed on the economic
37impact specific to a shutdown of the Diablo Canyon Units 1 and
382 powerplant to provide the state, and local communities, with
39valuable and necessary information to plan and prepare for that
40circumstance. The findings and recommendations made are not
P5    1intended to interfere with or invalidate the joint proposal and can
2be used by local communities and parties to the joint proposal to
3provide further information and recommendations to minimize the
4local economic and other impacts that the planned closure may
5cause.

begin delete
6

SEC. 3.  

The sum of four hundred thousand dollars ($400,000)
7is hereby appropriated from the Public Utilities Commission
8Utilities Reimbursement Account to the Public Utilities
9Commission for additional staffing to urgently effectuate the
10third-party assessment pursuant to Section 712.5 of the Public
11Utilities Code.

end delete
12begin insert

begin insertSEC. 3.end insert  

end insert

begin insertThe Public Utilities Commission shall approve the
13withdrawal of four hundred thousand dollars ($400,000) from the
14nuclear decommissioning trust funds established by Pacific Gas
15and Electric Company pursuant to the Nuclear Facility
16Decommissioning Act of 1985 (Chapter 2 (commencing with
17Section 8321) of Division 4.1 of the Public Utilities Code) for the
18Diablo Canyon Units 1 and 2 powerplant. The commission shall
19use the moneys for additional staffing to urgently effectuate the
20third-party assessment pursuant to Section 712.5 of the Public
21Utilities Code.end insert

22begin insert

begin insertSEC. 4.end insert  

end insert
begin insert

This act is an urgency statute necessary for the
23immediate preservation of the public peace, health, or safety within
24the meaning of Article IV of the Constitution and shall go into
25immediate effect. The facts constituting the necessity are:

end insert
begin insert

26
The Pacific Gas and Electric Company announced on June 21,
272016, that it would not renew its licenses for Diablo Canyon Units
281 and 2 and it is necessary for the Public Utilities Commission to
29immediately start the process of selecting an independent third
30party to conduct an economic assessment and to provide the
31 independent third party with as much time as possible to conduct
32a thorough assessment.

end insert


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