Company: PCG-PB
Filing Date: 2025-02-13
Form Type: 10-K
Source: 0001004980-25-000010
Chunk: 103

Company: PG&E Corp
Filing Date: 2025-02-13
Form: 10-K
Item: Item 1
Chunk 103
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 and local statutes.  These laws and regulations cover, among other pollutants, those contributing to the formation of ground-level ozone, carbon dioxide (CO2), sulfur dioxide (SO2), nitrogen oxides (NOx), particulate matter, and other emissions.

At the federal level, the EPA is charged with implementation and enforcement of the Clean Air Act, which it uses to address GHG emissions.

For information regarding regulation of greenhouse gas emissions, see “Sustainability and Resiliency” below.

Nuclear Fuel Disposal

Nuclear power plant operations produce gaseous, liquid, and solid radioactive wastes, which are covered by federal regulation.  High-level radioactive wastes primarily include used nuclear fuel.  Low-level waste consists primarily of demineralizer resins, paper, protective clothing, rags, tools, and equipment contaminated through use.

Under the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982, the DOE and electric utilities with commercial nuclear power plants were authorized to enter into contracts under which the DOE would be required to dispose of the utilities’ spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste by January 1998, in exchange for fees paid by the utilities’ customers.  The DOE has been unable to meet its contractual obligation with the Utility to dispose of nuclear waste from the Utility’s two nuclear generating units at DCPP and the retired nuclear facility at Humboldt Bay.  As a result, the Utility constructed interim dry cask storage facilities to store its spent fuel onsite at DCPP and at Humboldt Bay until the DOE fulfills its contractual obligation to take possession of the spent fuel.  The Utility and other nuclear power plant owners sued the DOE to recover the costs that they incurred to construct interim storage facilities for spent nuclear fuel.

Ratemaking Mechanisms

The Utility operates under a “cost-of-service” ratemaking model, which means that rates for electric and natural gas utility services are generally set at levels that are intended to allow the Utility to recover its costs of providing service and to earn a return on invested capital.  To set rates, the CPUC and the FERC conduct proceedings to determine the amount that the Utility will be authorized to collect from its customers (“revenue requirements”).  In the GRC proceedings, the CPUC also generally approves the level of spending on a forecasted basis.  Revenue authorized by the CPUC through GRC proceedings is intended to provide the Utility a reasonable opportunity to recover its costs and earn a return on its investments in generation and distribution assets and general plant (also referred to as “rate