California legislators advance plan to extend nuke plant run

By MICHAEL R. BLOOD and ADAM BEAM
Associated Press

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — The California Legislature was advancing Gov. Gavin Newsom’s blueprint to extend the lifespan of the state’s last operating nuclear power plant by up to five years. The vote represented a setback for environmentalists who wanted to state to abide by a 2016 agreement to close the Diablo Canyon Power Plant by 2025. Newsom warned California could face blackouts if the reactors were retired too soon, as the state transitions to renewables. But critics questioned the aging plant’s safety, which sits in a web of nearby earthquake faults. Other issues ranged from how ratepayers across the state might be impacted to storage of spent nuclear fuel.