Stop the Steal!

Governor Newsom’s May budget revision would axe billions of dollars in vital human services and climate programs. But, somehow, $400 million in surplus grift for PG&E is left untouched.

Senate Bill 846, enacted in 2022, authorized giving PG&E a $1.4 billion zero-interest, forgivable bridge “loan” to pursue the extension of the Diablo Canyon nuclear plant. It was to be repaid by a matching federal DOE energy grant. PG&E got the grant in January.

As it happens, PG&E only asked DOE for $1.1 billion — reasons unknown — and the chances of the state being paid back the missing $300 million are negligible. Receipt of the DOE grant eliminated the need for any more state funding. Last month, the Joint Legislative Budget Committee tried, unsuccessfully, to limit the amount of state disbursements to $600 million.

The state has already doled out $1 billion of the loan to PG&E, and Newsom wants to gift them the remaining $400 million — which is $300 million more than can be repaid by the federal grant! It’s easy math — taxpayers will lose. Reasonable people can disagree about the wisdom of the Diablo Canyon extension, but who thinks stuffing $400 million of unneeded money into PG&E’s pockets is reasonable?

Taxpayers need to let their legislators know this unnecessary expenditure should be redirected to higher priorities. In a fiscal crisis, where genuine needs are being stripped from the budget, PG&E is now swiping food from other plates. Somebody needs to stop them.

David Weisman is executive director of the Alliance for Nuclear Responsibility Legal Fund.