Maximizing pollution reduction while protecting California ratepayers and taxpayers.
California is weighing whether to keep Diablo Canyon running past 2025 — and who should pay for it.
In 2022, the California legislature passed SB 846, authorizing a $1.4 billion loan to Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) to continue operating Diablo Canyon Power Plant past its scheduled 2025 decommissioning. While the loan was meant to be a “bridge” until PG&E received federal reimbursement, the utility now faces up to a $658.6 million shortfall in repaying it, because the company only applied for $1.1 billion in federal awards and will likely receive just $741.4 million.
Based on the Department of Energy’s evaluation of the plant and PG&E’s public filings, we find that PG&E inflated the costs of Diablo Canyon’s capital upgrades and operations, and should only have requested a loan of $741.4 million. Meanwhile, PG&E has generated three consecutive years of record profits. State legislators can protect California taxpayers and preserve the state budget by having PG&E repay the full loan amount from excess shareholder profits.
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