While utility representatives did not reveal whether they would ask federal regulators for a 20-year license extension for their nuclear power plants, the issue was the elephant in the living room at the California Energy Commission hearing on the future of the state’s nuclear plants October 20. Per legislation--AB 1632--the commission is vetting nuclear power in California. The main issue in the hearing was the potential for earthquakes to damage the facilities and release radioactivity, harming populations. “We’re committed to seismic” safety, said Scott Galati, Pacific Gas & Electric attorney, “whether or not [PG&E] seeks renewal” of its operating license from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. “Should there be any re-licensing activity” the commission prefers resolution of earthquake safety issues, said commissioner Jim Boyd. Nuclear-owning utilities had some problems with the draft report on nuclear power released September 25. They took issue during the workshop with the questioning of their safety culture. The report’s recommendations give the “impression that there would be something unique and strange about Diablo [Canyon nuclear plant],” said Galati regarding earthquake safety. Environmentalists, in contrast, wanted the report to include more about California’s nuclear future. “The report asked questions that should be asked, but they only begin to beg the questions,” said Scott Fielder, intervener attorney. Fielder added that the commission’s AB 1632 investigation cost less than $1 million, while the California Public Utilities Commission recently approved a $14 million feasibility study for PG&E to investigate ongoing operations at Diablo Canyon.