The Department of Energy awarded Pacific Gas and Electric 271 million dollars this month to help support continued operations at Diablo Canyon Power Plant, the utility's two-unit nuclear facility that supplies nearly 10 percent of California's total power generation. The payment came through the department's Civil Nuclear Credit Program, which was created to provide strategic federal investment aimed at preserving the country's existing nuclear reactor fleet.
Diablo Canyon's two reactors were originally scheduled to stop commercial operations by 2025 before the plant secured funding through the credit program to continue running. In April, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission approved 20-year license extensions for both of the plant's reactors. Under the program, Pacific Gas and Electric is eligible to receive up to 1.1 billion dollars in total to support the activities needed to keep Diablo Canyon operating, including reactor component replacements, equipment upgrades, fuel procurement, and other costs tied to extending the plant's operations.
Department officials said the funding is intended to help meet California's growing demand for electricity while keeping thousands of jobs in the region tied to the plant. The Civil Nuclear Credit Program is a multibillion-dollar federal effort meant to prevent premature retirements among existing nuclear plants nationwide, and this payment marks one of the program's award cycles supporting continued operation at an operating U.S. reactor site.
Source: U.S. Department of Energy - https://www.energy.gov/ne/articles/department-energy-awards-first-civil-nuclear-credit-payment-california-power-plant