When will PG&E shutter Diablo Canyon? Here’s what CEO Patti Poppe has to say | Opinion

Patti Poppe, the chief executive officer of PG&E, says that Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant will operate “as long as the people of California wish.”

“It would be a great honor to continue to operate the plant as long as the state would have us,” she said during an interview with opinion editors from McClatchy’s California newspapers, including the Sacramento Bee, Fresno Bee, Modesto Bee and San Luis Obispo Tribune.

The plant had been scheduled to close permanently in 2025, when its licenses expire. But when it appeared the state would not have enough alternative green energy sources by that date, Gov. Gavin Newsom struck a deal to allow the plant to remain open another five years, until 2030.

Except the door is open to an even longer life.

PG&E will apply to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission for a license extension that would be good for another 20 years, which is the standard length of time for plants applying for relicensing.

While PG&E has not confirmed that it plans to stay open that long, there’s been speculation that may indeed be the case. For her part, Poppe made it clear that she believes Diablo Canyon is in excellent shape.

“I’m a fan,” she said. “I would love to keep it open as long we can safely operate it and as long as the state supports the operation of that plant. It’s a treasure for our state. It is one of the safest operated nuclear power plants in the world.”

It’s not out of the ordinary for a CEO to express such enthusiasm, but it is another indication that PG&E — which is normally more tight-lipped about the long-term future of California’s last remaining nuclear power plant — is willing to consider extending the facility’s life far beyond an additional five years.

Maureen Zawalick, vice president of nuclear business and technical services at PG&E, said that even more plainly.

“Diablo Canyon is needed, not just until 2030, but at least until 2030,” she said at a March NRC conference. “We’re not seeing the progress that is needed on bringing offshore wind or other renewables online and energy storage and things like that.”

PG&E confident in Diablo Canyon’s safety

Some San Luis Obispo County residents, as well as others outside the area who are concerned about the plant’s safety, continue the legal fight to close Diablo Canyon.

Among other concerns, they believe it is inherently dangerous to operate a nuclear power plant in an area crisscrossed by earthquake faults, no matter how many scientific studies say that the plant is capable of withstanding a maximum credible earthquake.

Objections also have been raised about storing radioactive spent fuel at the site when there is still no permanent storage facility.

Lawsuits have been filed over the decision to extend the life of the plant, to no avail.

One of the more recent cases, filed in September by Mothers for Peace and Friends of the Earth, demands further testing of the Unit 1 reactor vessel for embrittlement — the deterioration of steel that can cause cracks in the vessel.

PG&E officials have said they will conduct Unit 1 testing, while also issuing assurances about the safety of the reactor vessel.

Sumeet Singh, vice president and chief operating officer for PG&E, told McClatchy opinion editors that the Diablo Canyon Independent Safety Committee performed an analysis that showed the “reactor integrity is sound for at least an additional 20 years of operation.”

“So we’re very, very confident in the integrity and safety of both units,” he said.

Testing will happen in 2025

PG&E officials initially said they might be able to conduct tests during the current refueling outage, but late Tuesday, announced they will not be able to remove the component needed for testing until the next outage in 2025.

That’s too long to wait, according to the petition from Mothers for Peace, which says the reactor vessel could reach an unacceptable level of embrittlement by the end of this year.

State Sen. John Laird and Assemblymember Dawn Addis, whose districts include the nuclear power plant, had requested PG&E to provide more specifics on the timing of the test.

“... We are receiving significant messages of concern from our constituents concerning the safety of Unit 1 of the Diablo Canyon Power Plant. As you are aware, these concerns stem from questions about the potential embrittlement of that unit (and the risk that it could lead to cracking) and the alleged lack of testing in recent years to confirm or deny these questions,” they wrote in a joint letter to PG&E dated Oct. 18.

While the lawmakers had still not received a formal response as of Wednesday morning, Sen. Laird’s office said he had been informed at 8 p.m. Tuesday that the necessary component needed for testing could not be pulled until the 2025 outage, and results would be available within 18 months later.

For a company trying hard to rehabilitate its image after being held responsible for deadly wildfires in Northern California, PG&E should be more responsive not only to elected officials, but also to the public.

That’s especially the case given the controversy that’s surrounded Diablo Canyon for decades.

Some opponents will never rest until the plant is permanently closed, but there are plenty of others — the majority, in fact — who are fine with having the plant nearby, as long as they believe it is safe.

To keep it that way, PG&E must quickly respond to concerns. Dodging questions from lawmakers and failing to commit to timely testing of critical infrastructure does not inspire that confidence.

If PG&E wants Diablo Canyon to stay open another five, 10 or 20 years, it shouldn’t just preach corporate values like transparency, safety and integrity. It must prove that it’s practicing them — or it could discover that it’s worn out its welcome.

This editorial has been updated with information about the timing of Unit 1 embrittlement testing. and to clarify that PG&E has not yet submitted its relicensing application.