Governor Gavin Newsom says he won’t spearhead an extension for the Diablo Canyon Power Plant, California’s last functioning nuclear energy plant.
At a press conference on clean energy in Oakland late last week, Newsom said he’s passing the baton to whoever takes over his role at the beginning of next year.
“That will be a determination made by policymakers that will be here a lot longer than I will,” Newsom said. “I got a sell-by date in five months.”
In November, voters will choose either Democrat Xavier Becerra or Republican Steve Hilton to serve as governor after Newsom’s term ends in January.
The California State Legislature previously extended Diablo Canyon’s operations to the year 2030 by passing SB 846 — a bill that Newsom signed into law.
An advocacy group called Diablo Canyon 2045 responded to Newsom’s comments with a statement that said pushing the extension decision out to next year would cost more money in the long run.
“Regardless of the Governor's comment, there is still time for the legislature to uphold their commitment to affordability this session," a press release from the group says.
A spokesperson for PG&E, the utility that operates Diablo Canyon, sent KCBX a statement responding to Newsom’s comments.
“Extending Diablo Canyon beyond 2030 this legislative session will immediately save electric customers $1.7 billion in unnecessary costs to build new power plants by 2032 as required by the CPUC’s recent 6,000-megawatt procurement order,” the statement said.
The legislature only has three more weeks to pass a Diablo Canyon extension bill this year, before final recess begins on August 31.
Disclosure: PG&E is a financial supporter of KCBX.
