PG&E must repay the $43.2 million in costs associated with an inadequate fix of the aging Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant, according to a new regulatory ruling that blames the utility for lapsed oversight of the project.
According to the decision by two administrative law judges, PG&E’s failure to properly oversee a $130 million retrofit to the Unit 2 generator back in 2019, allowed leaks and excessive vibration to build up during the two years after the work was done.
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WATCH HEREUltimately, the troubled unit had to shut down for a month to fix those problems.
The ruling, which now must go before the state’s Public Utilities Commission, would force the utility to pay back to customers the $43.2 million cost of replacement power while the Unit 2 generator was shut down for repairs in February 2021.
PG&E wanted ratepayers to cover the bill, saying the problems were unforeseeable and the contractor it used for the retrofit had a good track record. It told regulators vibration had not been a problem at other similar plants.
The judges ruled, however, that PG&E had the obligation to verify the retrofit contractor’s plan would, in fact, prevent the kind of excessive vibrations that ended up triggering shutdowns.
Critics say the ruling raises questions about the long-term integrity of the plant which the utility says it hopes to keep operating beyond its current 2030 authorization.
“This is harbinger of bad things to come,” said David Weisman, executive director of the Alliance For Nuclear Responsibility watchdog group. “This shows that as the plant ages, more things will go wrong and we can’t trust that PG&E has the management competence to handle them.”
Weisman worries that state legislation extending the plant’s life allows the utility to charge ratepayers up to $300 million for mishaps tied to keeping the plant open.
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