A 15-year Diablo Extension is a Vote Against Energy Affordability!
"Diablo canyon nuclear power plant" by marya from San Luis Obispo, USA is licensed under CC BY 2.0.
The current 5-year extension of Diablo Canyon’s operation through 2030 is already enriching Pacific Gas & Electric Co. (PG&E) at great expense to ratepayers and taxpayers. According to The 2035 Initiative, a thorough and well-documented study by experts at UC Santa Barbara, a 2022 bill extending operation of Diablo Canyon through 2030 has delivered a windfall to PG&E while electricity customers across the state are faced with rising rates:
● Between 2023 and 2030, PG&E will collect $2.65 billion in excess ratepayer fees – paid for by all private utility customers in California, not just PG&E customers. This grab-bag of sweeteners – all unrelated to operating costs – includes a fixed management fee, a volumetric performance fee, a liquidated damage fee, and an employee retention fee. These fees are above what the California Independent System Operator (CAISO) market pays PG&E for the electricity produced by Diablo Canyon.
● Electricity customers are currently subsidizing a plant whose revenues exceed its costs without the subsidies. Even without these sweeteners for PG&E, forecasted revenues would exceed the costs of extended operations by $164 million through 2030.
● PG&E will need as much as $658.6 million to pay off a $1.4 billion state loan intended to fund the 5-year extension. The state has not decided who will pick up the tab – PG&E’s overcompensated stockholders or customers and taxpayers.
● PG&E is making a killing while customers are squeezed. In 2025, PG&E generated a record $2.59 billion in profits, outpacing consecutive record profits in 2023 and 2024. PG&E CEO Patricia Poppe received $15.8 million in total compensation – the sixth highest salary among U.S. utility CEOs. Meanwhile, electricity costs for California customers have only risen – increasing about 65% for PG&E customers since 2020.
A further extension of Diablo Canyon makes no sense; it is not needed and could slow California’s less expensive renewable and energy efficiency progress. CPUC modeling shows that California’s energy system already has clean energy and storage capacity that is more than sufficient to meet demand through 2036 and beyond. As recognized by California Energy Commissioner Siva Gunda, continued operation of Diablo Canyon beyond 2030 would crowd out renewables and thereby depress their growth.
A further extension of Diablo Canyon would impose unnecessary financial and safety risks and continue ongoing devastation of the marine environment. Important questions about the integrity of the Unit 1 pressure vessel remain unresolved, as well as questions about seismic risks to the plant. PG&E’s failure to modernize its cooling water system continues to harm the marine environment. There is no reason for the state to incur the financial, safety and environmental risks when cleaner, safer and more affordable alternatives are available.
Why is the legislature considering this without full public hearings? A 15-year extension would have major consequences for ratepayers, taxpayers, the state budget, the clean energy transition and the Central Coast environment. Such a decision should not happen behind closed doors or without meaningful public scrutiny. Before lawmakers ask Californians to pay even more, they should be forced to answer a simple question: Why should customers and taxpayers keep bailing out PG&E?
It is time to stop bleeding ratepayers and taxpayers to enrich PG&E! Diablo Canyon is a costly, unnecessary and dangerous plant.
Contact: Kim Delfino
President, Earth Advocacy
Phone: 916-201-8277 Email: kdelfino@earth-advocacy.com