Assemblymember Dawn Addis (D-Morro Bay) spoke at the Oct. 20 meeting of the Diablo Canyon Independent Safety Committee.
She began by noting that “PG&E is still not giving our community our fair share of taxes” and “not paying back hundreds of millions of dollars in taxpayer money through the loans they were given through the state legislature…which is taking money out of ratepayers’ pockets right now, during a historic cost of living crisis.”
Addis recalled the most recent legislative session, which saw “huge advocacy to prematurely extend the Diablo Canyon’s operating life beyond 2030,” a campaign that placed a great deal of reliance “on a weakened and politicized Nuclear Regulatory Commission…in some of their rule making processes.” Addis thanked lawmakers and state officials “for putting safety first” and not rushing into a decision to further extend Diablo’s life.
On the plant’s safety issues, Addis noted that “it’s just a simple truth that there is a possibility of catastrophic, irreversible disaster, and we rely on PG&E to make sure that that disaster never occurs, but we can’t just trust blindly.”
PG&E staff have concluded that embrittlement of the reactor vessel remains within acceptable limits, supporting its position that the reactor remains safe to operate for 60 years without seismic safety concerns.
Addis said "I am urging the Safety Committee to request a third-party investigation verifying the testing results. Accepting PG&E, Westinghouse, and NRC declarations of safety is not enough. Our community needs and deserves an unbiased, independent assessment of the embrittlement testing."
Addis also called for stronger safeguards and greater transparency as PG&E incorporates artificial intelligence into its operations, and pointed out a lack of communication and coordination with local jurisdictions that became apparent the previous week when residents in Cambria were subjected to a scheduled Public Safety Power Shutoff (PSPS).
"The lack of preparation, communication, and coordination that PG&E demonstrated left too many questions about PG&E's ability to safely lead us through a radiological emergency at Diablo that happens concurrently with a local PSPS or unplanned outage," Addis said.