California Senate Bill SB657 Amended / Bill

 BILL NUMBER: SB 657AMENDED BILL TEXT AMENDED IN SENATE JUNE 23, 2015 AMENDED IN SENATE APRIL 21, 2015 INTRODUCED BY Senator Monning (Coauthor: Senator Jackson) FEBRUARY 27, 2015 An act to add Section 712 to the Public Utilities Code, relating to electricity, and declaring the urgency thereof, to take effect immediately. LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST SB 657, as amended, Monning. Diablo Canyon Units 1 and 2: enhanced seismic studies and review: independent peer review panel. Under existing law, the Public Utilities Commission has regulatory authority over public utilities, including electrical corporations. Existing law authorizes the commission to fix the rates and charges for every public utility, and requires that those rates and charges be just and reasonable. Existing law requires the commission, for purposes of establishing rates for any electrical corporation, to disallow expenses reflecting the direct or indirect costs resulting from any unreasonable error or omission relating to the planning, construction, or operation of any portion of the corporation's plant which cost, or is estimated to have cost, more than $50,000,000, including any expenses resulting from delays caused by any unreasonable error or omission. For these purposes, "planning" includes activities related to the initial and subsequent assessments of the need for a plant construction project and includes investigation and interpretation of environmental factors such as seismic conditions. This bill would require the commission to convene, or continue, until  January 1,   August 26,  2025, an independent peer review panel to conduct an independent review of enhanced seismic studies and surveys of the Diablo Canyon Units 1 and 2 powerplant, including the surrounding areas of the facility and areas of nuclear waste storage. This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute. Vote: 2/3. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: no. THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS: SECTION 1. Section 712 is added to the Public Utilities Code, to read: 712. (a) The commission shall convene, or continue, until  January 1,   August 26,  2025, an independent peer review panel to conduct an independent review of enhanced seismic studies and surveys of the Diablo Canyon Units 1 and 2 powerplant, including the surrounding areas of the facility and areas of nuclear waste storage. (b) The independent peer review panel shall contract with the Energy Commission, the California Geological Survey of the Department of Conservation, the California Coastal Commission, the Alfred E. Alquist Seismic Safety Commission, the Office of Emergency Services, and the County of San Luis Obispo to participate on the panel and provide expertise. (c) The independent peer review panel shall review the seismic studies and hold public meetings. (d) The commission shall make reports by the independent peer review panel publicly available on the Internet Web site maintained by the commission. SEC. 2. This act is an urgency statute necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, or safety within the meaning of Article IV of the Constitution and shall go into immediate effect. The facts constituting the necessity are: The Public Utilities Commission in Decision 10-08-003 (August 12, 2010) convened an independent peer review panel to review the seismic studies conducted on behalf of Pacific Gas and Electric Company relative to the Diablo Canyon Units 1 and 2 powerplant. The independent peer review panel, in addition to providing valuable expertise to the commission in evaluating the seismic studies, also operates to assure the public that the seismic studies are being performed in an appropriate manner. Because the commission's current contracts for the independent peer review panel are set to expire on November 30, 2015, the Diablo Canyon Units 1 and 2 powerplant is authorized to operate until  January 1,   August 26,  2025, by the federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission, and there continues to be enhanced seismic studies and surveys conducted that warrant review by the independent peer review panel to ensure the safety of the public, it is necessary that this act take effect immediately.