When the California electorate removed then-Gov. Gray Davis in 2003, a year after giving him a momentary term, they established a new political principle: Governors must, no matter the political or monetary cost, force cuts.
More or less, Davis blamed when the blackouts hit the state in early 2003 due to a failed review of enforcement regulations.
That’s why, despite his insistence that California will be the world leader in becoming an all-electric, zero-emission company, Gov. Gavin Newsom needs to make the operations of some gas-fired power plants that had been classified for closure larger. and, at most, the only remaining nuclear power plant in California. which was due to close in 2025.
The change of state towards wind and sun has not kept pace with demand, especially the increasingly common heat waves, and we have staggered at the breaking point of power cuts on hot days. Shutting down the gas turbines and the Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant: The latter offers about nine percent of the state’s power source, which would make disruptions highly likely.
Unsurprisingly, Newsom’s proposal to extinguish the lives of those important resources has drawn opposition from environmentalists, who are threatening to sink his power plan in the final days of the 2022 legislative session, which will end Wednesday.
However, extensive behind-the-scenes negotiations seem to have produced results. On Sunday night, a compromise measure was introduced to keep Diablo Canyon in business for at least five more years, just hours before the constitutional deadline. It states that the expansion of Diablo Canyon’s operations “is prudent, profitable and in the most productive interest of all California electric power customers. “
The legislation, Senate Bill 846, reduces the 10-year protracted operation Newsom sought and other provisions to appease environmental critics, such as calling for intense efforts to bring more non-nuclear, carbon-free force online. However, it also calls for a two-thirds vote for the plant’s owner, Pacific Gas and Electric, to meet an imminent federal deadline to seek federal budget to fund extended operations.
Lobbyists running on the Senate approval factor is certain, as the senator representing the Diablo Canyon site in San Luis Obispo County, John Laird, agrees. Assembly approval is a little less certain as the factor is caught up in fierce leadership. He is pitting President Anthony Rendon, who says he will seek some other term when the Legislature resumes in December, against Rep. Robert Rivas.
Although the law helps keep Diablo Canyon online for at least five years, it is very likely to drag on, as it is highly unlikely that you will have enough choice until 2030.
The stage is saturated with irony. California once predicted that nuclear power plants would become one of its main force resources for a developing population. Two giants were built, Diablo Canyon and San Onofre in Southern California, linked through a medium, Rancho Seco, near Sacramento. Pg
Official policy failed on the nuclear force in the 1970s with the government of the day. Jerry Brown at the head of the opposition. He signed a law blocking new nuclear weapons unless the challenge of stockpiling nuclear weapons was resolved, and in 1978 his management eliminated a proposed force plant on the Colorado River near Blythe, called Sundesert.
One by one, the state’s existing nuclear weapons were shut down, leaving only Diablo Canyon to generate more juice, but they also shut down too much until Newsom and other officials faced the truth that if their shutdown caused power outages, Californians would be ruthless.
CalMatters is a public interest journalism corporation committed to explaining how the California State Capitol works and why it matters. For more stories through Dan Walters, go to Commentary.