Diablo Canyon ends unusual event prompted by earthquake near King City

AVILA BEACH, Calif. – Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) ended an Unusual Event at its Diablo Canyon Power Plant today at 11:42 a.m. The utility declared the event at 12:09 a.m. in response to an earthquake near King City that was felt in the control room. King City is located about 90 miles north of the plant.

 

In keeping with PG&E's strong commitment to safety, plant operators and engineers performed inspections or "walk-downs" of the site following the Unusual Event declaration. These assessments confirmed there were no impacts to plant equipment or operations. Both Units 1 and 2 continue to operate safely at 100 percent power.

 

The Unusual Event declaration followed protocols set by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), which also included notification of state and community partners. Such an event is declared for an other-than-normal plant related condition that does not require any emergency action by the general public or any government authorities. It is the lowest of four emergency classifications established by the NRC.

 

Diablo Canyon Power Plant is a nuclear power facility owned and operated by PG&E. Its two units together produce approximately 2,300 net megawatts of greenhouse-gas-free electricity, about 10 percent of all electricity generated in California, and enough energy to meet the needs of more than three million Northern and Central Californians.

 

Pacific Gas and Electric Company, a subsidiary of PG&E Corporation (NYSE:PCG), is one of the largest combined natural gas and electric utilities in the United States. Based in San Francisco, with 20,000 employees, the company delivers some of the nation's cleanest energy to 15 million people in Northern and Central California. For more information, visit pge.com/news and pgecurrents.com.