By admin 
It will be up to California’s next governor to decide whether to sign a bill extending the operating life of Diablo Canyon until 2045 — assuming such a bill makes it through the Legislature.
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The two candidates who will go head-to-head in November — Republican Steve Hilton and Democrat Xavier Becerra — have already endorsed the plan to keep the state’s last nuclear power plant running until its new license expires in 2045.
Becerra did, however, add one caveat. “Yes, but safety first,” he said during a candidates debate held last spring.
There has been speculation that the Legislature might draft a bill to extend the life of the plant in the waning days of the current session, but that possibility is looking more remote now that Gov. Gavin Newsom has announced that it will be up to his successor to handle that issue.
“That will be the determination of the next administration, a determination made by policymakers (who) will be here a lot longer than I will,” he said. “I have a sell-by date in five months.”
Local legislators want to give extension a close look
State Sen. John Laird, whose district includes the nuclear plant, is relieved that lawmakers will have adequate time to draft legislation.
“I look forward to having the opportunity in 2027, over a full nine-month legislative session, to thoughtfully consider Diablo Canyon’s future and ensure that the community is protected during any additional years of operation,” he said in a prepared statement.
Along with Assemblymember Dawn Addis, Laird has repeatedly urged allowing time for careful deliberation of issues that include plant safety, spent fuel storage, costs to ratepayers and compensation for local governments, especially San Luis Obispo County schools that have been dependent on tax revenue from the plant.
PG&E and its supporters, on the other hand, have pushed for a quick decision.
They warn that a delay could cost ratepayers money.
“If they passed the extension this year, it would avoid costly and unnecessary fallback energy procurements and save up to $1.3 billion in the first year, according to MIT, and every year it’s operating after that. Regardless of the Governor’s comment, there is still time for the legislature to uphold their commitment to affordability this session,” an advocacy group called Diablo Canyon 2045 posted on Monday.
Sounds like they want lawmakers to rush through critical legislation based at least in part on a single study — a study that has been contradicted by a UCSB report that concluded PG&E inflated the costs of operating Diablo Canyon when negotiating the plant’s extension, and as a result, has overcharged customers.
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Public deserves a full, objective accounting
Such contradictions are exactly why the public deserves an unbiased accounting before a final deal is inked — not more propaganda from PG&E cheerleaders.
Drafting legislation in a hurry is never a good idea. Look at what happened with the five-year extension agreement.
Lawmakers neglected to include a resumption of tax payments for local governments, costing the San Luis Coastal Unified School District millions of dollars. Now cleanup legislation is pending that would allow for some reimbursement.
Then there’s the matter of the as-yet unpaid state loan that could run as high as $650 million. PG&E says it doesn’t owe, but the Legislature says it does.
Here’s one more sensitive topic: The current five-year agreement includes a 25% retention pay increase for Diablo Canyon employees. As of March, approximately 1,200 employees were receiving the retention bonus, costing an average of $55 million per year, according to PG&E. Will that continue if the extension is granted?
We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again. Given the public’s growing confidence in nuclear power, the need for electricity and the next governor’s support for Diablo Canyon’s extension, we fully expect the plant to be operating for many more years.
But we need to ensure everyone — especially the host community of San Luis Obispo County — is well protected and fairly treated.
If that means waiting until next year to finalize an agreement, that’s the right thing to do.
This story was originally published August 11, 2026 at 5:00 AM with the headline “Gov. Newsom punts on Diablo Canyon extension. That’s a relief | Opinion.”
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