Small fire on out of service equipment quickly extinguished at Diablo Canyon Power Plant

Incident posed no risk to plant safety or public health

July 20, 2011


AVILA BEACH, Calif. - A small fire was quickly extinguished today on a back-up diesel generator that was out of service at Pacific Gas and Electric Company’s (PG&E) Diablo Canyon Power Plant.


There was no risk to plant safety or public health and no injuries occurred. Units 1 and 2 were not impacted and remain at 100 percent power.


The Unit 1 back-up diesel generator involved in the incident was out of service at the time for planned maintenance. The brief fire began when a piece of insulation became heated during testing of the equipment. The generator was shut down immediately, effectively extinguishing the fire.


PG&E officials are conducting an investigation into the incident. 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 www.pge.com/about/.