More than 50 elected officials across California have signed a letter urging state lawmakers to extend Diablo Canyon Power Plant operations beyond 2030.
The letter, signed by 54 elected officials from counties including Merced, Madera, Fresno, Butte, Redding, San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara, is addressed to Gov. Gavin Newsom, Senate President Pro Tem Monique Limon and Assemblymember Robert Rivas.
The Federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission has already approved operations through 2045, but the plant still needs state approval to continue past its current 2030 closure date.
San Luis Obispo County supervisors from Districts 1, 2 and 3 signed the letter. District 3 Supervisor Dawn Ortiz-Legg said timing is crucial for local input.
"One of the things that we think is really important is for the county to continue to be in the conversation. We haven't been in the conversation," Ortiz-Legg said. "When it came to the closure in 2016, the county was later informed of that decision, and in 2022 when the five-year extension came, we were also later informed about that decision."
The letter cites an MIT study that found Californians could save up to $1.3 billion annually if the plant operates through 2045.
However, not all groups support the extension. Mothers for Peace, a nonprofit that opposes the Diablo Canyon Power Plant, criticized the letter.
"So I'm saddened and shocked that local officials and other officials would send this kind of a letter," said Linda Seeley, vice president of Mothers for Peace. "If you noticed, there are two supervisors who did not sign that letter, and I think they made the right decision."
The timeline for state approval remains unclear, but the letter states officials hope action is taken before the end of this year's legislative session.
