MEDIA ADVISORY
Friday, December 30, 2022
Click here for text of Senate Bill 846
San Diego, Calif. (December 30, 2022) – At the behest of Governor Newsom, the California legislature has voted to bail out Pacific Gas and Electric’s (PG&E’s) failing Diablo Canyon nuclear plant at your expense.
The bailout will increase every ratepayer’s bill by 3%. The move will crush the competition from all Community Choice Aggregate’s (CCA), and no one in the state is exempt.
Senate Bill 846 was passed with few opposing votes, under a cloak of darkness, past the midnight hour on the last day of the Legislative session.
Additionally, Senate Bill 846 gave PG&E a “forgivable” $1.42 Billion “loan” of taxpayer dollars to pay for the utility’s hefty license fee in order keep the antiquated Diablo Canyon Nuclear Power Plant running past its prime. PG&E’s Diablo Canyon Unit 1 began operations in 1985, and Unit 2 in 1986, and has been generating electricity for more than 30 years.
Although San Diego businesses and residents pay the highest electric rates in the continental USA, our rates will be going up even higher in 2023. In 2021, nearly 30% of San Diego Gas & Electric’s (SDG&E’s) customers couldn’t afford to pay their electric bills. That percentage will soar with this new rate increase.
On January 11, 2018, the California Public Utility Commission (CPUC) approved PG&E’s proposal to retire Diablo Canyon’s Unit 1 in 2024, and Unit 2 in 2025. This bill has invalidated the CPUC’s approval of the nuclear power plant shutdown. It is also interesting to note that Senate Bill 846 is cleverly constructed so that the CPUC is prevented from conducting public rate hearings as a part of the dirty deal.
To arrange an interview contact Charles Langley at (858) 752-4600 or email langley@publicwatchdogs.org
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