Gov. Jerry Brown on Wednesday set the stage for higher PG&E utility bills by signing legislation to ease the impacts from the shutdown of the Diablo Canyon facility, California’s last remaining nuclear power plant.
San Francisco-based PG&E intends to phase out the reactors of its Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant in San Luis Obispo County when their operating licenses with the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission expire in November 2024 and August 2025.
In August, PG&E conceded that the legislation would wind up increasing monthly power bills for PG&E residential customers.
The prospect of a rate increase runs counter to promises made in 2016 by PG&E executive Geisha Williams, now the embattled utility’s chief executive officer, that higher monthly bills wouldn’t result from its plans to shut down Diablo Canyon, which is perched on a scenic stretch of the Central California coast.
When PG&E announced its original proposal in June 2016 for the shutdown of Diablo Canyon, Williams, at the time president of electric at PG&E’s utility subsidiary, stated, “There is no need for a cost increase from our customers.”
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