Federal regulators granted an exemption March 2 to allow California’s last nuclear power plant to continue operating as the state grapples with green energy shortages.
Pacific Gas & Electric, operator of the San Luis Obispo plant, asked the Nuclear Regulatory Commission for a temporary extension last year.
“After evaluating the company’s exemption request, the [Nuclear Regulatory Commission] staff determined that the exemption is authorized by law, will not present undue risk to the public health and safety, and is consistent with the common defense and security,” the commission wrote in a release Thursday.
Regulators determined Diablo Canyon’s continued operation is in the public interest because of serious challenges to the reliability of California’s electricity grid, the commission said in the release….