Nuclear Energy: Which side is your Community Choice program on?

(06/2020) Last month, we shared with you the good news that the governing board of East Bay Community Energy (EBCE), the public energy services provider for Alameda County cities, voted 10-5 to turn down PG&E’s offer of dangerous Diablo Canyon nuclear energy as part of EBCE’s 2020 power mix. If you would like to learn more about the fight for a nuclear-free EBCE and East Bay Clean Power Alliance’s advocacy around this issue, please read Case Study: East Bay Community Energy Rejects Nuclear Deal Victory for East Bay Clean Power Alliance in 2020. 

 

Inspired by the East Bay Clean Power Alliance’s organizing efforts, activists in Sonoma County quickly organized to bring this issue to public attention. Within a couple of days, over a hundred customers of Sonoma Clean Power submitted comments to urge their governing board to vote against accepting PG&E’s nuclear energy offer. The Board listened to what the public demanded and voted 11-0 to reject Diablo Canyon nuclear energy. 

 

Meanwhile, activists on the central coast were outraged to learn about Monterey Bay Community Power’s hasty decision to accept nuclear energy on February 22. Their efforts to reverse the governing Board’s decision resulted in a special meeting with a 12-3 vote to reject Diablo Canyon nuclear energy in 2020. Monterey Bay Community Power joined the other seven Community Choice programs in rejecting PG&E’s nuclear offer while three Community Choice programs have decided to accept it. See the table below to find out which side your community choice program is on. 

 

Note: We were able to find information about 13 out of 21 Community Choice programs in California. Like PG&E, Southern California Edison offers an allocation of carbon-free energy (large hydroelectric and nuclear) to Community Choice programs, but there appears to be no uptake of the nuclear. According to the calculations done by some activists, PG&E will only be able to dump about 5% of Diablo Canyon’s yearly production on Community Choice programs based on who is accepting the offer, and it might be less than that since at least Silicon Valley Clean Energy thinks it is only taking attributes.