OAKLAND — PG&E customers face higher bills following state approval Thursday night for money to operate California’s only nuclear plant — after a meeting punctuated by angry audience comments and heckling.
The Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant, an aging facility perched on a scenic stretch of the San Luis Obispo County coastline, had been slated to be phased out in 2025 and 2026
California officials, however, alarmed by the grim prospect that energy shortages might cripple the state’s economy without Diablo Canyon, embarked on a quest captained by Gov. Gavin Newsom to keep the nuclear power complex open beyond its planned decommissioning date.
Diablo Canyon is staying open to keep providing a reliable flow of electricity in California as it navigates towards what state government political leaders hope is a green and clean energy future.
Yet achieving that goal obliges PG&E customers to face the forbidding prospect of paying yet another round of rising monthly utility bills, following the decision by the state Public Utilities Commission.
Monthly PG&E bills are slated to rise by an average of more than $3 a month for the typical PG&E residential customer, the power company estimated Thursday.
The issue of steadily climbing PG&E monthly bills is so contentious that the state PUC — in a rare departure from form — failed to unanimously approve the item. The powerful state panel voted 4-1 to approve PG&E’s ability to recover its recent, current and near-future costs of continuing to operate the vast power plant.
PUC Commissioner Darcie Houck voted against the item to grant PG&E the increased revenue. She thought the matter was complex enough to avoid rushing to give a final approval to the matter, especially considering the soaring monthly bills being paid by PG&E customers.
“We are in an unprecedented affordability crisis in California,” Houck said during a discussion session on the item. “I am trying to understand what we are actually approving.” She suggested a postponement but the PUC approved the item despite her concerns.
Oakland-based PG&E believes Diablo Canyon is poised to play an essential role in smoothing California’s path to an energy future that depends much more on electricity and clean energy rather than natural gas and fossil fuels.
“PG&E is meeting the state’s call to extend Diablo Canyon generation operations for the benefit of electric reliability,” said PG&E spokesperson Suzanne Hosn. “Continuing to operate Diablo Canyon is the most cost-effective way available now to help maintain the reliability of California’s electricity grid.”
The two nuclear reactors at the power plant provide massive amounts of electricity for California.
“Diablo Canyon produces enough safe, reliable, and affordable clean electricity 24/7 to meet the energy needs of more than 3 million Californians,” Hosn said.
Long-term, based on an array of factors, some of which are estimates, PG&E customers could experience a benefit of $3.5 billion over an extended period of time from 2024 through 2030, according to Hosn.
For now, however, PG&E residential customers will pay an additional $3.20 a month, or a 1.5% increase, starting just days from now, on Jan. 1, 2025.
The prospect of higher bills infuriated numerous people who provided public comments for the PUC meeting in San Francisco on Thursday, a session that ran for hours due to several complex and controversial items on the agenda.
Many speakers directed their ire at PG&E, Gov. Newsom, the state Legislature, and the PUC, which is supposed to be PG&E’s official watchdog and supervisor.
“PG&E, PUC, and Gavin Newsom, take notice, the people are rising up,” said Kelly Buster, president of Stop PG&E, an advocacy group. “It’s time we take back our power.”
Several customers told the PUC they have simply decided to shiver in what has become a chilly winter in many parts of northern and central California rather than run their heaters to warm up their residences.
“I can’t afford PG&E,” said Lindsey Billings, a customer of the utility. “I have to put three blankets on the bed to stay warm. But we are organizing and getting bigger and bigger. We are coming for you guys.”
Small business people joined the chorus of disdain aimed at PG&E, the PUC and Gov. Newsom.
“My PG&E bill equals more than all of my other expenses combined,” said Terry Frazier, who owns a small business. “You are puppets,” Frazier told the PUC, “who are being controlled by the corporations.”
Before the meeting, PUC commissioner and president Alice Reynolds expressed her hope that people could find joy during the holidays. Several speakers mocked those holiday wishes during the hours-long meeting.
“I hope you have the worst Christmas ever,” one speaker shouted at the PUC.
Alex Formuzis, a spokesperson for the Environmental Working Group, and a harsh critic of both the PUC and PG&E, noted that PG&E has received approval from the state regulators for several increases in monthly bills.
The Diablo Canyon decision marked the fifth rate increase in 2024 for PG&E, the group stated.
“The relentless rate hikes requested by PG&E and approved by the CPUC are crippling California’s working families,” Formuzis said. “Despite years of promises to address its financial mismanagement, PG&E, with the complicity of its captive regulators, continues to pass the costs onto its customers.”