The CPUC’s proposals aim to ensure that California has adequate resources to maintain grid reliability during the middle of the decade, after the roughly 2,200 MW Diablo Canyon nuclear plant is retired by 2025. In addition, more than 3,700 MW of gas plants are scheduled to retire in the next few years, pushing regulators to look for alternative sources of energy.
Both proposed decisions would have electricity providers procure a collective 11,500 MW of resources for 2023 through 2026, and include additional fossil fuel resources. While one proposes between 1,000 MW and 1,500 MW of additional natural gas by 2025, the other is limited to 500 MW.