Diablo Canyon’s Extended Operations Forecast to Provide $3.2 Billion in Financial Benefit to Customers

Today, PG&E filed its 2026 forecast for extended operations costs of the Diablo Canyon Power Plant at the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC), highlighting billions of dollars in financial benefits headed to customers between now and 2030.

The forecast demonstrates that the financial benefits of operating Diablo Canyon through 2030 far exceed the operating costs paid by customers. In total, the net benefits of Diablo Canyon’s extended operations are $3.2 billion, or $540 million annually, for California energy customers.

In other words, without Diablo Canyon’s continued operations, an additional $540 million would be placed into the energy bills of Californians every year for the next six years.

Calculating $3.2 billion in net benefit

Diablo Canyon is the state’s largest source of clean energy, and as demonstrated in today’s filing, it’s also a factor in helping to stabilize energy bills for all Californians.

Here’s how this “net benefit” breaks down:

Operating Diablo Canyon from 2024 to 2030 will cost roughly $8.4 billion, $1.2 billion of which is being paid for by state and federal programs. That leaves the remaining $7.2 billion that will be paid by customers over the six-year period in question.

These costs represent just one side of the financial equation. There are significant financial benefits for customers that come from extended operations of the plant, and when you add everything up, Diablo Canyon’s revenues and reliability value greatly exceed its operating costs, yielding billions in financial benefits for customers.

Here’s how: The energy generated by Diablo Canyon is sold on the state’s energy market and is expected to fetch roughly $4.9 billion, 100% of which must be returned to customers to offset the costs of operations. In addition, operating Diablo Canyon means that PG&E and other energy companies won’t be required to sign new and costly energy contracts to ensure that California’s grid can maintain electric reliability during periods of extreme demand. Using the state’s methodology for estimating the cost of these contracts under today’s market conditions, this reliability value comes out to roughly $5.6 billion in additional value.

Together with the previous discussed market revenues, the overall benefit nets out to $10.5 billion, or more than $3.2 billion more than the cost to operate the plant.

Again, what this all means is that, without Diablo Canyon, energy bills would be $3.2 billion, or more than $540 million a year, higher for California families.

Commitment to clean energy goals

Diablo Canyon currently accounts for 8.2 percent of all electricity generated in California, or enough to meet the energy needs of more than 2.5 million Californians — all of which is clean, zero-emission, carbon free energy. The plant is estimated to save between 6 to 7 million metric tons of greenhouse gases from entering the atmosphere every year — roughly the equivalent of taking 1.6 million cars off the road.

Closing Diablo Canyon before more renewables are brought online would force the state to integrate more fossil fuel generation into its energy portfolio to make up for the lost output from Diablo Canyon, effectively backpedaling on its clean energy goals. In addition to these broad societal and environmental benefits, this cost forecast demonstrates that extended operations also provide real financial benefits to California electric customers.

PG&E's proactive approach to managing the extended operations of Diablo Canyon Power Plant highlights its team's ability to operate and maintain the plant safely and proficiently. This approach reflects the company's dedication to improving affordability, reliability, and sustainability for all customers.