BILL ANALYSIS
AB 42
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Date of Hearing: May 6, 2009
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Kevin De Leon, Chair
AB 42 (Blakeslee) - As Amended: April 22, 2009
Policy Committee:
UtilitiesVote:13-0
Natural Resources 7-0
Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program:
Yes Reimbursable: No
SUMMARY
This bill requires the Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E)
to conduct those seismic hazard studies or surveys in the
vicinity of the Diablo Canyon Nuclear Powerplant that are deemed
urgent by the California Energy Commission (CEC). Specifically,
this bill:
1.Requires the CEC, in consultation with the California Geologic
Survey, Seismic Safety Commission, and the California Coastal
Commission to determine by April 1, 2010 what seismic fault
vulnerability studies or surveys are urgently needed for
Diablo Canyon.
2.Requires the Public Utilities Commission (PUC) to consider
PG&E studies or surveys done pursuant to (1) in the PUC's
review of PG&E's license renewal application required pursuant
to a previous commission decision.
3.Requires the PUC to extend until June 30, 2011 PG&E's deadline
for applying for license renewal of Diablo Canyon if the
commission determines an extension is necessary for PG&E to
complete the seismic studies or surveys.
4.Authorizes the CEC, in consultation with the other entities
listed in (1), to participate in development of the study or
survey designs, and requires the CEC, in conjunction with
those other entities, to conduct or facilitate a peer review
of the studies or surveys with 120 days of receipt from PG&E.
5.Requires the CEC to include the study or survey findings and
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recommendations in its integrated energy policy report.
6.Requires the PUC to allow PG&E to fully recover in rates all
reasonable costs associated with the studies or surveys.
FISCAL EFFECT
1)The CEC will incur one-time special fund costs of about
$310,000 for one-half position and contracts regarding
required consultation, study design, and peer review.
2)Minor absorbable costs to the PUC.
COMMENTS
1.Background . The state's two operating nuclear plants,
PG&E-owned Diablo Canyon and Southern California Edison-owned
San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station (SONGS), account for 12
% of the state's electricity supply. Each plant faces
uncertain amount of damages due to earthquakes erupting
directly below the plants, or ground motion resulting from a
nearby earthquake rupture.
Diablo Canyon and SONGS have been operating for roughly half
of their 40-year initial NRC license term. In 2007, the PUC
granted PG&E's request for $16.8 million in ratepayer funds to
explore the feasibility of relicensing Diablo Canyon for
another 20 years-until the early to mid-2040s. In its
decision, the PUC required PG&E to submit an application by
June 30, 2011 on whether to pursue license renewal; the
application must include a license renewal feasibility study
to address whether renewal is cost effective and in the best
interests of PG&E's ratepayers.
AB 1632 (Blakeslee)/ Chapter 722 of 2006, directed the CEC to
determine the potential vulnerability of the state's largest
generating plants due to aging or a major seismic event,
assess the impacts that such a disruption would have on system
reliability, public safety, and the economy, and evaluate
other major issues related to the role of these plants in the
state's energy portfolio in order to be ready should a
disruption occur. In its decision regarding the license
renewal, the PUC also required PG&E to incorporate the
findings and recommendations of the CEC's AB 1632 study into
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PG&E's feasibility study.
2.Purpose . On November 21, 2008, PG&E announced it had
discovered a new earthquake fault within one mile offshore of
Diablo Canyon. According to the author's office, the nature
of the fault is unknown, as is its relationship with the
Hosgri fault, which is located about three miles offshore of
Diablo Canyon. The discovery of the second fault raises new
questions about the seismic risks of Diablo Canyon,
particularly regarding the plant's vulnerability to a major
disruption in electricity generation due to an earthquake.
The author believes that as PG&E explores the feasibility of
relicensing Diablo Canyon, it is imperative that both PG&E and
the state understand the economic and reliability risks of the
plant's extended operation.
At issue is the CEC's recommendation in its AB 1632 report
that PG&E should conduct high quality three-dimensional
geophysical seismic reflection mapping, which PG&E believes is
not necessary given the two-dimensional mapping it is
currently doing. This bill does not compel PG&E to do such
mapping, but instead requires PG&E to conduct those studies or
surveys deemed urgent by the CEC following a public hearing
and in consultation with the Seismic Vulnerability Advisory
Team (SVAT), comprised of experts from the CEC, California
Geologic Survey, SSC and California Coastal Commission, who
also provided technical review and input during the
development of the AB 1632 report.
Analysis Prepared by : Chuck Nicol / APPR. / (916) 319-2081