PG&E’s inflated Diablo Canyon budget could cost taxpayers >$600M. (LA Times)
The background: Diablo Canyon is California’s only operating nuclear facility. The 2.2-GW plant, which supplies >8% of the state’s electricity, got a five-year lifeline and $1.4B state loan in 2022. Last week, it was approved to stay online through 2030.
Now, a new UC Santa Barbara white paper argues that PG&E overstated the costs used to justify the plant’s 2022 rescue package. That leaves a potential $659M gap between the state loan and pending federal funding, which would fall to taxpayers.