PCG - California legislators pass plan to keep Diablo Canyon nuclear plant open

PG&E ( NYSE: PCG ) opens little changed on Thursday after the California legislature passed a bill approving a $1.4B government loan to keep the Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant open for five more years, reversing plans to close the facility in 2025.

The bill easily won the support of the required two-thirds of lawmakers it needed to pass, as legislators ultimately sided with Governor Gavin Newsom's position that Diablo Canyon, which generated 6% of California's electricity last year, was needed to shore up electric reliability.

California wants to produce all of its electricity from clean sources by 2045, but has faced difficulties with the transition, and rolling blackouts during a 2020 heat wave prompted Newsom to reconsider closing Diablo Canyon.

Environmental groups had argued the plant poses a safety threat and should be replaced as quickly as possible by renewable energy.

Currently suffering through another heat wave, California's grid operator issued a statewide Flex Alert on Wednesday, but Sunday and Monday are expected to be the most challenging days for the grid .

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