PG&E announced today that it has reached a deal with San Luis Obispo County to revive expired payments from the utility to communities surrounding the Diablo Canyon Power Plant.
Tom Jones, a senior director of Regulatory, Environmental and Repurposing at PG&E, said in a statement that the agreement “helps address near-term community needs while recognizing the vital role Diablo Canyon plays in delivering reliable, clean and affordable energy.”
The payments were originally negotiated in 2016 to coincide with the scheduled closure of California’s last nuclear power plant. Even though Diablo Canyon’s operations were ultimately extended to 2030, the payments still expired as scheduled in 2025.
The new agreement means the county government and other entities will now receive $8.3 million a year for the next two years, matching previous payments.
Earlier this year, State Senator John Laird introduced Senate Bill 931, which would have required PG&E to restart the payments.
He told KCBX he will now pause the bill because of the agreement, but will push for funding past 2028.
“I think it's a big victory for everyone that depends on these monies for operation, but particularly for the local school district that was going to have a huge loss,” Laird said.
Historically, the San Luis Coastal Unified School District received millions of dollars from PG&E. In 2025, district officials partially blamed budget cuts on the payments' expiration.
“This funding does provide some real breathing room,” said Annie Aguiñiga Frew, the co-founder of the advocacy group San Luis Coastal Parent Information Network.
“But, I think our schools also need a level of predictability and not necessarily another funding cliff that might happen two years from now,” she added.
Frew, whose daughters attend an SLCUSD elementary school, said she was unsure how the agreement would be enforced.
Assembly member Dawn Addis, who co-authored SB 931 with Laird, told KCBX that there’s still much work to be done to ensure the payments continue into 2030.
“I think it's a positive thing that [PG&E is] coming to the table to say that they're gonna voluntarily pay these two years,” Addis told KCBX. “That said, it's absolutely not enough.”
Disclosure: PG&E is a financial supporter of KCBX.
