Keep East Bay Community Choice Energy Nuclear-Free--Close Diablo Canyon Now!
EBCE Board of Directors, Alternates and Community Advisory Committee
Call to Action:
Alameda County's own public electricity agency, East Bay Community Energy (EBCE) is considering accepting PG&E's dangerous nuclear energy into its power mix. Community Choice programs in California were created to give the public the power to choose where their electricity comes from and what kind of energy it is (under California Assembly Bill 117 in 2002). In the East Bay—Alameda County, the community effort led by the East Bay Clean Power Alliance has been to advocate for local clean energy through EBCE, with an emphasis on creating clean energy jobs, community wealth, affordability, less remote transmission and fighting climate change with equity at the center. Currently there is no nuclear in EBCE’s mix as shown here on EBCE’s website.
As Fukushima, Chernobyl and Three Mile Island have shown us, nuclear energy is dangerous and dirty, not only from deadly nuclear meltdowns, but from the mining of uranium to the huge amounts of radioactive waste created with no safe storage for the long life of this waste. This form of energy is not worth the potential fallout to workers, communities and the environment. This is why California is phasing out nuclear power, with San Onofre (San Diego) now in decommissioning and a closure date for Diablo Canyon (San Luis Obispo) Nuclear Power Plant currently set for 2025, with urgent efforts to move for closure sooner than that date.
In the meantime, the cost of keeping Diablo Canyon open has skyrocketed to over $1 billion a year in losses and guess who has to pay for this? We do! PG&E charges customers in their territory to pay that cost in rates on their bills and charges EBCE customers through the Power Charge Indifference Adjustment (PCIA) fee, both of which are enabled by the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) who act as a rubber stamp body for PG&E.
EBCE and all other Community Choice programs could save tens of million of dollars in PCIA costs to customers if Diablo Canyon were to close before 2025, as the Alliance for Nuclear Responsibility is urging in its motion to the CPUC.
Take action to urge EBCE's Board of Directors to reject PG&E's offer of nuclear energy and instead support early closure of Diablo Canyon
Sponsored by
To:
EBCE Board of Directors, Alternates and Community Advisory Committee
From:
[Your Name]
I support the East Bay Clean Power Alliance's call to urge the East Bay Community Energy Board of Directors to reject the allotment of nuclear energy in the current proposal from PG&E.
EBCE was created to bring local clean renewable energy to Alameda County, along with the community benefits that development of local energy resources would bring. Nuclear energy was never expected to be part of EBCE’s energy mix and we reject the idea that it represents clean, sustainable, carbon-free energy. Nuclear energy is no solution to the climate crisis.
We also urge you to support the motion by the Alliance for Nuclear Responsibility for an earlier closure of Diablo Canyon Nuclear Power Plant, recognizing the huge safety, as well as economic benefits that closure will bring to East Bay residents and all California ratepayers.
Thank you for your consideration.