Dolly Parton Day.

Full Bill Text

Amended IN Assembly June 29, 2026 Amended IN Senate May 14, 2026 Amended IN Senate April 29, 2026 Amended IN Senate March 25, 2026 CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2025–2026 REGULAR SESSION Senate Bill No. 931 Introduced by Senator Laird (Principal coauthor: Assembly Member Addis) January 29, 2026 An act to amend Section 712.7 712.8 of the Public Utilities Code, relating to public utilities, and declaring the urgency thereof, to take effect immediately. LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST SB 931, as amended, Laird. Diablo Canyon nuclear powerplant: Community Impacts Mitigation Program. Existing law vests the Public Utilities Commission with regulatory jurisdiction over public utilities, including electrical corporations. Existing law requires the commission to approve full funding for the Community Impacts Mitigation Program set forth in a settlement between the Pacific Gas and Electric Company and various entities, including public entities in the County of San Luis Obispo, to mitigate the impacts caused by the decommissioning of the Diablo Canyon nuclear powerplant proposed by the Pacific Gas and Electric Company. Pursuant to existing law, the commission issued a decision authorizing the recovery of the costs of the Community Impacts Mitigation Program through the nuclear decommissioning nonbypassable charge. Existing law requires the commission to direct and authorize the extended operation of the Diablo Canyon nuclear powerplant until October 31, 2030. Existing law requires the commission to authorize the Pacific Gas and Electric Company, as the operator of the Diablo Canyon nuclear powerplant, to recover in rates a volumetric payment of a specified amount for each megawatthour of electricity generated by the nuclear powerplant during the period of extended operations, as provided, and requires the Pacific Gas and Electric Company to submit to the commission for its review, on an annual basis, the amount collected, how those moneys were spent, and a plan for prioritizing the use of those moneys in the next year, as provided. This bill would require the commission to approve the funding of plans described above covering the 2026–27 and 2027–28 fiscal years to include funding for the Essential Service Services Mitigation Fund established by the Community Impacts Mitigation Program for the extended operation of the Diablo Canyon nuclear powerplant, as provided. The bill would require that purpose to be prioritized for funding in the plans and would require that purpose to be fully funded before funding other authorized uses. The bill would require the funding be provided in 5 2 equal annual installments of $8,333,333 to the Essential Service Mitigation Fund starting in the 2026–27 and 2027–28 fiscal year 2026–27 and ending in fiscal year 2030–31, years, with the final payment made before October 31, 2030. 2028. The bill would require the County of San Luis Obispo to distribute the annual installments deposited into the Essential Service Mitigation Fund that funding within 30 days of receipt of each deposit, as provided. By imposing requirements on the county to distribute those moneys, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. Under existing law, a violation of an order, decision, rule, direction, demand, or requirement of the commission is a crime. Because a violation of a commission action implementing the bill’s requirements would be a crime, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. This bill would make legislative findings and declarations as to the necessity of a special statute for the Diablo Canyon nuclear powerplant. The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement. This bill would provide that with regard to certain mandates no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason. With regard to any other mandates, this bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs so mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above. This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute. Digest Key Vote: 2/3 Appropriation: NO Fiscal Committee: YES Local Program: YES Bill Text The people of the State of California do enact as follows: SECTION 1. The Legislature finds and declares all of the following: (a) The Diablo Canyon nuclear powerplant is a two‑unit nuclear generating facility located in the County of San Luis Obispo that provides a significant share of California’s zero-carbon electricity supply and 8.5 percent of California’s total electricity generation. (b) In Senate Bill 846 (Chapter 239 of the Statutes of 2022), the Legislature found that preserving the continued operations of the Diablo Canyon nuclear powerplant for an additional five years beyond 2025 may be necessary to improve statewide energy system reliability and to reduce the emissions of greenhouse gases while additional renewable energy and zero-carbon resources come online, until those new renewable energy and zero-carbon resources are adequate to meet demand. (c) The Legislature found in Senate Bill 846 that accordingly, it is the policy of the Legislature that seeking to extend the Diablo Canyon nuclear powerplant’s operations for a renewed license term is prudent, cost effective, and in the best interests of all California electricity customers. (d) The Legislature found in Senate Bill 846 that the continued operation of the Diablo Canyon nuclear powerplant is in all respects for the welfare and the benefit of the people of the state, to protect public peace, health, and safety, and constitutes an essential governmental purpose. (e) In 2018, the Legislature enacted Senate Bill 1090 (Chapter 561 of the Statutes of 2018) directing the Public Utilities Commission to authorize rate recovery for a Community Impacts Mitigation Program. (f) In passing Senate Bill 1090, the Legislature intended to extend ratepayer funding for the Community Impacts Mitigation Program as an ongoing operating expense of the Diablo Canyon nuclear powerplant through the end of its service life, which at the time, was scheduled for full decommissioning by the end of 2025. (g) When the Legislature enacted Senate Bill 846 in 2022, authorizing the Public Utilities Commission to allow for the continued operation of Diablo Canyon nuclear powerplant through 2030, it neglected to clarify whether Community Impacts Mitigation Program funding should likewise continue if the commission authorized a later decommissioning date for the Diablo Canyon nuclear powerplant. (h) The Legislature declares that support shall continue through the period of extended operations authorized by Senate Bill 846. (g) The Essential Services Mitigation Fund established by the Community Impacts Mitigation Program and approved in commission Decision 18-11-024 (November 29, 2018), Decision Implementing Senate Bill 1090 and Modifying Decision 18-01-022, is an eligible critical public purpose priority pursuant to subparagraphs (D) and (E) of paragraph (1) of subdivision (s) of Section 712.8 of the Public Utilities Code. SEC. 2. Section 712.7 of the Public Utilities Code is amended to read: 712.7. (a) The commission shall approve all of the following: (1) The full funding for the community impact mitigation settlement proposed in Application 16-08-006. (2) The full funding for the employee retention program proposed in Application 16-08-006. (3) (A) Funding for the Essential Service Mitigation Fund established by the Community Impacts Mitigation Program approved in commission Decision 18-11-024 (November 29, 2018), Decision Implementing Senate Bill 1090 and Modifying Decision 18-01-022, in the amount authorized by Advice Letter 5461-E-A, during the period of extended operations prescribed in Section 712.8. The funding shall be recovered in rates in the same manner prescribed by paragraph (1) of subdivision (l) of Section 712.8. (B) Funding shall be provided for in five equal annual installments of eight million three hundred thirty-three thousand three hundred thirty-three dollars ($8,333,333) to the Essential Service Mitigation Fund established by the Community Impacts Mitigation Program, starting in fiscal year 2026–27 and continuing through fiscal year 2030–31, with the final payment made before October 31, 2030, the last day of operations of Unit 2 of the Diablo Canyon nuclear powerplant. The funding for the Essential Service Mitigation Fund shall not be extended beyond the time period specified in this subparagraph unless the Legislature enacts future legislation that explicitly extends funding for that fund. (C) The County of San Luis Obispo shall distribute amounts deposited pursuant to subparagraph (B) within 30 days of receipt of each annual deposit to those entities that previously received allocations from the county from disbursements of the Essential Services Mitigation Fund established by the Community Impacts Mitigation Program approved in commission Decision 18-11-024. Amounts shall be distributed on a weighted basis consistent with the relative shares reflected in the distribution methodology as approved in commission Decision 18-11-024, as applied using the unitary factors effective for the most recent fiscal year upon receipt of the annual deposit. (b) The commission shall ensure that integrated resource plans are designed to avoid any increase in emissions of greenhouse gases as a result of the retirement of the Diablo Canyon Units 1 and 2 powerplant. (c) The commission shall establish an expedited advice letter process for the approval and implementation pursuant to subdivision (a) of the community impact mitigation settlement and the employee retention program. SEC. 2. Section 712.8 of the Public Utilities Code is amended to read: 712.8. (a) For purposes of this section, all of the following definitions apply: (1) “Current expiration dates” has the same meaning as defined in Section 25548.1 of the Public Resources Code. (2) “Diablo Canyon powerplant operations” has the same meaning as defined in Section 25548.1 of the Public Resources Code. (3) “Load-serving entity” has the same meaning as defined in Section 380. (4) “Operator” has the same meaning as defined in Section 25548.1 of the Public Resources Code. (b) (1) Ordering paragraphs (1) and (14) of commission Decision 18-01-022 (January 11, 2018) Decision Approving Retirement of Diablo Canyon Nuclear Power Plant, are hereby invalidated. (2) The commission shall reopen commission Application 16-08-006 and take other actions as are necessary to implement this section. (c) (1) (A) Notwithstanding any other law, within 120 days of September 2, 2022, the commission shall direct and authorize the operator of the Diablo Canyon Units 1 and 2 to take all actions that would be necessary to operate the powerplant beyond the current expiration dates, so as to preserve the option of extended operations, until the following retirement dates, conditional upon continued authorization to operate by the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission: (i) For Unit 1, October 31, 2029. (ii) For Unit 2, October 31, 2030. (B) If the loan provided for by Chapter 6.3 (commencing with Section 25548) of Division 15 of the Public Resources Code is terminated under that chapter, the commission shall modify its order under this paragraph and direct an earlier retirement date. (C) Actions taken by the operator pursuant to the commission’s actions under this paragraph, including in preparation for extended operations, shall not be funded by ratepayers of any load-serving entities, but may be funded by the loan provided for by Chapter 6.3 (commencing with Section 25548) of Division 15 of the Public Resources Code or other nonratepayer funds available to the operator. The commission shall not allow the recovery from ratepayers of costs incurred by the operator to prepare for, seek, or receive any extended license to operate by the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission. (2) (A) No later than December 31, 2023, and notwithstanding the 180-day time limitation in subdivision (a) of Section 25548.2 of the Public Resources Code, the commission shall direct and authorize extended operations at the Diablo Canyon powerplant until the new retirement dates specified in subparagraph (A) of paragraph (1). (B) The commission shall review the reports and recommendations of the Independent Safety Committee for Diablo Canyon described in Section 712.1. If the Independent Safety Committee for Diablo Canyon’s reports or recommendations cause the commission to determine, in its discretion, that the costs of any upgrades necessary to address seismic safety or issues of deferred maintenance that may have arisen due to the expectation of the plant closing sooner are too high to justify incurring, or if the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s conditions of license renewal require expenditures that are too high to justify incurring, the commission may issue an order that reestablishes the current expiration dates as the retirement date, or that establishes new retirement dates that are earlier than provided in subparagraph (A) of paragraph (1), to the extent allowable under federal law, and shall provide sufficient time for orderly shutdown and authorize recovery of any outstanding uncollected costs and fees. (C) If the loan provided for by Chapter 6.3 (commencing with Section 25548) of Division 15 of the Public Resources Code is terminated under that chapter, the commission may issue an order that reestablishes the current expiration dates as the retirement date, or that establishes new retirement dates that are earlier than provided in subparagraph (A) of paragraph (1), and shall provide sufficient time for orderly shutdown and authorize recovery of any outstanding uncollected costs and fees. (D) If the commission determines that new renewable energy and zero-carbon resources that are adequate to substitute for the Diablo Canyon powerplant and that meet the state’s planning standards for energy reliability have already been constructed and interconnected by the time of its decision, the commission may issue an order that reestablishes the current expiration dates as the retirement date, or that establishes new retirement dates that are earlier than provided in subparagraph (A) of paragraph (1), and shall provide sufficient time for orderly shutdown and authorize recovery of any outstanding uncollected costs and fees. (E) Any retirement date established under this paragraph shall be conditioned upon continued authorization to operate by the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission. If the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission does not extend the current expiration dates or renews the licenses for Diablo Canyon Units 1 or 2 for a period shorter than the extended operations authorized by the commission, the commission shall modify any orders issued under this paragraph to direct a retirement date that is the same as the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission license expiration date. (3) The commission shall do all things necessary and appropriate to implement this section, including, but not limited to, allocating financial responsibility for the extended operations of the Diablo Canyon powerplant to customers of all load-serving entities and ensuring completion of funding of the community impacts mitigation settlement described in Section 712.7. The commission shall not require any funds already disbursed or committed under the community impacts mitigation settlement described in Section 712.7 to be returned because of extended operations of the Diablo Canyon powerplant. (4) Except as authorized by this section, customers of load-serving entities shall have no other financial responsibility for the costs of the extended operations of the Diablo Canyon powerplant. In no event shall load-serving entities other than the operator and their customers have any liability for the operations of the Diablo Canyon powerplant. (5) Consistent with Section 25548.4 of the Public Resources Code, the commission shall collaborate with the Department of Water Resources to oversee the operator’s actions that are funded by the loan provided for by Chapter 6.3 (commencing with Section 25548) of Division 15 of the Public Resources Code. (d) The commission shall not increase cost recovery from ratepayers for operations and maintenance expenses incurred by the operator during the period from August 1, 2022, to November 2, 2024, for Diablo Canyon Unit 1 and from August 1, 2022, to August 26, 2025, for Diablo Canyon Unit 2, above the amounts approved in the most recent general rate case for the operator pursuant to commission proceeding A.21-06-021 (June 30, 2021) Application of Pacific Gas and Electric Company for Authority, Among Other Things, to Increase Rates and Charges for Electric and Gas Service Effective on January 1, 2023. (e) The commission shall order the operator to track all costs associated with continued and extended operations of Diablo Canyon Units 1 and 2. The commission shall authorize the operator to establish accounts as necessary to track all costs incurred under paragraph (1) of subdivision (c), all costs incurred under the loan provided for by Chapter 6.3 (commencing with Section 25548) of Division 15 of the Public Resources Code, all costs to be borne only by the operator’s ratepayers, all costs to be borne by ratepayers of all load-serving entities, consistent with this section, and any other costs as determined by the commission. Among these accounts shall be a Diablo Canyon Extended Operations liquidated damages balancing account, described in subdivisions (g) and (i). (f) (1) Notwithstanding any approval of extended operations, the commission shall continue to authorize the operator to recover in rates all of the reasonable costs incurred to prepare for the retirement of Diablo Canyon Units 1 and 2, including any reasonable additional costs associated with decommissioning planning resulting from the license renewal applications or license renewals. The reasonable costs incurred to prepare for the retirement of Diablo Canyon Power Plant Units 1 and 2 shall be recovered on a fully nonbypassable basis from customers of all load-serving entities subject to the commission’s jurisdiction in the operator’s service territory, as determined by the commission, except that the reasonable additional costs associated with decommissioning planning resulting from the license renewal applications or license renewals shall be recovered on a fully nonbypassable basis from customers of all load-serving entities subject to the commission’s jurisdiction in the state. (2) The commission shall continue to fund the employee retention program approved in Decision 18-11-024 (December 2, 2018) Decision Implementing Senate Bill 1090 and Modifying Decision 18-01-022, as modified to incorporate 2024, 2025, and additional years of extended operations, on an ongoing basis until the end of operations of both units with program costs tracked under subdivision (e) and fully recovered in rates. Any additional funding for the employee retention program beyond what was already approved in commission Decision 18-11-024 shall be submitted by the operator in an application for review by the commission. (3) The commission shall determine the amount or allocation that the customers of all load-serving entities subject to the commission’s jurisdiction shall contribute towards the reasonable additional costs of decommissioning planning resulting from the license renewal applications or license renewals and shall authorize the operator to recover in rates those costs through a nonbypassable charge applicable to the customers of all load-serving entities subject to the commission’s jurisdiction in the state as set forth in paragraph (1) of subdivision (l). (4) The commission shall authorize the operator to recover in rates all of the reasonable costs incurred to prepare for, respond to, provide information to, or otherwise participate in or engage the independent peer review panel under Section 712. (5) In lieu of a rate-based return on investment and in acknowledgment of the greater risk of outages in an older plant that the operator could be held liable for, the commission shall authorize the operator to recover in rates a volumetric payment equal to six dollars and fifty cents ($6.50), in 2022 dollars, for each megawatthour generated by the Diablo Canyon powerplant during the period of extended operations beyond the current expiration dates, to be borne by customers of all load-serving entities, and an additional volumetric payment equal to six dollars and fifty cents ($6.50), in 2022 dollars, to be borne by customers in the service territory of the operator. The amount of the operating risk payment shall be adjusted annually by the commission using commission-approved escalation methodologies and adjustment factors. (6) (A) In lieu of a rate-based return on investment and in acknowledgment of the greater risk of outages in an older plant that the operator could be held liable for, the commission shall authorize the operator to recover in rates a fixed payment of fifty million dollars ($50,000,000), in 2022 dollars, for each unit for each year of extended operations, subject to adjustment in subparagraphs (B) to (D), inclusive. The amount of the fixed payment shall be adjusted annually by the commission using commission-approved escalation methodologies and adjustment factors. (B) In the first year of extended operations for each unit, the operator shall continue to receive the full fixed payment during periods in which a unit is out of service due to an unplanned outage for nine months or less, and shall receive 50 percent of the payment for months in excess of nine months that a unit is down. (C) In the second year of extended operations, the operator shall continue to receive the fixed payment during periods in which a unit is out of service due to an unplanned outage for eight months or less, and shall receive 50 percent of the payment for months in excess of eight months that a unit is down. (D) In each subsequent year of extended operations, the period in which the full fixed payment is received during periods when a unit is out of service due to an unplanned outage shall decline by one additional month. (g) The commission shall authorize and fund as part of the charge under paragraph (1) of subdivision (l), the Diablo Canyon Extended Operations liquidated damages balancing account in the amount of twelve million five hundred thousand dollars ($12,500,000) each month for each unit until the liquidated damages balancing account has a balance of three hundred million dollars ($300,000,000). (h) (1) The commission shall authorize the operator to recover all reasonable costs and expenses necessary to operate Diablo Canyon Units 1 and 2 beyond the current expiration dates, including those in subdivisions (f) and (g), net of market revenues for those operations and any production tax credits of the operator, on a forecast basis in a new proceeding structured similarly to its annual Energy Resource Recovery Account forecast proceeding with a subsequent true-up to actual costs and market revenues for the prior calendar year via an expedited Tier 3 advice letter process, provided that there shall be no further review of the reasonableness of costs incurred if actual costs are below 115 percent of the forecasted costs. All costs shall be recovered as an operating expense and shall not be eligible for inclusion in the operator’s rate base. (2) As the result of any significant one-time capital expenditures during the extended operation period, the commission may authorize, and the operator may propose, cost recovery of these expenditures as operating expenses amortized over more than one year for the purpose of reducing rate volatility, at an amortization interest rate determined by the commission. The commission shall allow cost recovery if the costs and expenses are just and reasonable. Those costs and expenses are just and reasonable if the operator’s conduct is consistent with the actions that a reasonable utility would have undertaken in good faith under similar circumstances, at the relevant point in time and with information that the operator should have known at the relevant point in time. (3) If, as a result of the annual true-up for extended operations in paragraph (1), the commission determines that market revenues for the prior year exceeded the annual costs and expenses, including those in subdivisions (f) and (g), the commission shall direct that any available surplus revenues in an account created under subdivision (e) be credited solely to customers in the operator’s service territory. For customers outside the operator’s service territory, market revenues may be credited up to, but not to exceed, their respective annual costs and expenses. If excess funds remain in an account created under subdivision (e) as a result of market revenues exceeding costs and expenses in the final year of the extended operating period, after truing up the final operating year’s market revenues against costs and expenses, the remaining funds shall be the sole source of loan repayment per the requirements provided under Chapter 6.3 (commencing with Section 25548) of Division 15 of the Public Resources Code, except that any federal funds received as described in paragraph (1) of subdivision (c) of Section 25548.3 of the Public Resources Code shall also be used to repay the loan. Ratepayer funds shall not otherwise be used in any manner to repay the loan provided for under Chapter 6.3 (commencing with Section 25548) of Division 15 of the Public Resources Code. (i) (1) During any unplanned outage periods, the commission shall authorize the operator to recover reasonable replacement power costs, if incurred, associated with Diablo Canyon powerplant operations. If the commission finds that replacement power costs incurred when a unit is out of service due to an unplanned outage are the result of a failure of the operator to meet the reasonable manager standard, then the commission shall authorize payment of the replacement power costs from the Diablo Canyon Extended Operations liquidated damages balancing account described in subdivision (g). (2) After commencing payments from the Diablo Canyon Extended Operations liquidated damages balancing account under the conditions described in paragraph (1), the commission shall authorize the replenishment of the Diablo Canyon Extended Operations liquidated damages balancing account in the amount of twelve million five hundred thousand dollars ($12,500,000) for each unit for each month up to a maximum account balance of three hundred million dollars ($300,000,000). (j) If the commission finds that the operator is requesting recovery of costs that were previously authorized by the commission or other state or federal agency or paid to the operator for cost recovery, the commission may fine the operator an amount up to three times the amount of the penalty provided in Section 2107 for each violation. (k) If at any point during the license renewal process or extended operations period the operator believes that, as a result of an unplanned outage, an emergent operating risk, or a new compliance requirement, the cost of performing upgrades needed to continue operations of one or both units exceed the benefits to ratepayers of the continued operation of doing so, the operator shall promptly notify the commission. The commission shall promptly review and determine whether expending funds to continue operations is reasonable, will remain beneficial to ratepayers, and is in the public interest or direct the operator to cease operations. The operator shall take all actions necessary to safely operate or maintain the Diablo Canyon powerplant pending the commission determination. (l) (1) Any costs the commission authorizes the operator to recover in rates under this section shall be recovered on a fully nonbypassable basis from customers of all load-serving entities subject to the commissions’s jurisdiction, as determined by the commission, except as otherwise provided in this section. The recovery of these nonbypassable costs by the load-serving entities shall be based on each customer’s gross consumption of electricity regardless of a customer’s net metering status or purchase of electric energy and service from an electric service provider, community choice aggregator, or other third-party source of electric energy or electricity service. (2) The commission shall establish mechanisms, including authorizing balancing and memorandum accounts and, as needed, agreements with, or orders with respect to, electrical corporations, community choice aggregators, and electric service providers, to ensure that the revenues received to pay a charge or cost payable pursuant to this section are recovered in rates from those entities and promptly remitted to the entity entitled to those revenues. (m) This section does not alter the recovery of costs, including those previously approved by the commission, to operate Diablo Canyon Units 1 and 2 until the current expiration dates. (n) The commission shall halt disbursements from the Diablo Canyon Nuclear Decommissioning Non-Qualified Trust, excluding refunds to ratepayers. (o) The commission, in consultation with the relevant federal and state agencies and appropriate California Native American tribes, shall, in a new or existing proceeding, determine the disposition of the Diablo Canyon powerplant real property and its surrounding real properties owned by the applicable public utility or any legally related, affiliated, or associated companies, in a manner that best serves the interests of the local community, ratepayers, California Native America tribes, and the state. It is the intent of the Legislature that the existing efforts to transfer lands owned by the operator and Eureka Energy shall not be impeded by the extension of the Diablo Canyon powerplant. (p) Except as otherwise provided in this section, this section does not alter or limit any proceeding of the commission relating to the decommissioning of the Diablo Canyon powerplant. (q) The Legislature finds and declares that the purpose of the extension of the Diablo Canyon powerplant operations is to protect the state against significant uncertainty in future demand resulting from the state’s greenhouse gas reduction efforts involving electrification of transportation and building energy end uses and regional climate-related weather phenomenon, and to address the risk that currently ordered procurement will be insufficient to meet this supply or that there may be delays in bringing the ordered resources online on schedule. Consequently, the continued operation of Diablo Canyon Units 1 and 2 beyond their current expiration dates shall not be factored into the analyses used by the commission or by load-serving entities not subject to the commission’s jurisdiction when determining future generation and transmission needs to ensure electrical grid reliability and to meet the state’s greenhouse gas emissions reduction goals. To the extent the commission decides to allocate any benefits or attributes from extended operations of the Diablo Canyon powerplant, the commission may consider the higher cost to customers in the operator’s service area. (r) Any sale, mortgage, transfer of operational control, or any other encumbrance of disposition of the Diablo Canyon powerplant shall continue to be subject to Article 6 (commencing with Section 851). (s) (1) The operator shall submit to the commission for its review, on an annual basis basis, the amount of compensation earned under paragraph (5) of subdivision (f), how it was spent, and a plan for prioritizing the uses of such compensation the next year. Such compensation shall not be paid out to shareholders. Such compensation, to the extent it is not needed for Diablo Canyon, shall be spent to accelerate, or increase spending on, the following critical public purpose priorities: (A) Accelerating customer and generator interconnections. (B) Accelerating actions needed to bring renewable and zero-carbon energy online and modernize the electrical grid. (C) Accelerating building decarbonization. (D) Workforce and customer safety. (E) Communications and education. (F) Increasing resiliency and reducing operational and system risk. (2) (A) Plans submitted pursuant to paragraph (1) covering the 2026–27 and 2027–2028 fiscal years shall include funding in those fiscal years to continue the Essential Services Mitigation Fund established by the Community Impacts Mitigation Program approved in commission Decision 18-11-024 (November 29, 2018), Decision Implementing Senate Bill 1090 and Modifying Decision 18-01-022, in the amount authorized by Advice Letter 5461-E-A, as specified in subparagraph (B). This purpose shall be prioritized for funding in the plan and shall be fully funded for those two fiscal years before funding the priorities specified in paragraph (1). (B) (i) The funding shall be provided for in two equal annual installments of eight million three hundred thirty-three thousand three hundred thirty-three dollars ($8,333,333) to the Essential Services Mitigation Fund, starting in the 2026–27 fiscal year and continuing through the 2027–28 fiscal year, with the final payment made before October 31, 2028. The funding for the Essential Services Mitigation Fund shall not be extended beyond the time period specified in this paragraph unless the Legislature enacts future legislation that explicitly extends funding for that fund. (ii) The County of San Luis Obispo shall distribute funding provided pursuant to clause (i) within 30 days of receipt of each annual deposit to those entities that previously received allocations from the county from disbursements of the Essential Services Mitigation Fund. The funding shall be distributed on a weighted basis consistent with the relative shares reflected in the distribution methodology as approved in commission Decision 18-11-024, as applied using the unitary factors effective for the most recent fiscal year upon receipt of the annual deposit. (2) (3) The operator shall not earn a rate of return for any of the expenditures described in paragraph (1) so that no profit shall be realized by the operator’s shareholders. Neither the operator nor any of its affiliates or holding company may increase existing public earning per share guidance as a result of compensation provided under this section. The commission shall ensure no double recovery in rates. (t) The commission shall verify at the conclusion of extended operations that the operator’s sole compensation during the period of extended operations is limited to and in accordance with paragraphs (5) and (6) of subdivision (f) and shall be in lieu of a rate-based return on investment in the Diablo Canyon powerplant. Any excess funds remaining in an account created under subdivision (e) as a result of market revenues exceeding costs and expenses across the extended operating period, after truing up the final operating year’s market revenues against costs and expenses, following loan repayment under paragraph (3) of subdivision (h), shall not be paid out to shareholders. Instead, such excess funds shall be returned in full to customers in a manner to be determined by the commission, except that any funds remaining in the Diablo Canyon Extended Operations liquidated damages balancing account specified in subdivisions (g) and (i), shall be returned to customers in the operator’s service territory in a manner to be determined by the commission. (u) The efforts to transfer lands owned by the operator and Eureka Energy, including North Ranch, Parcel P, South Ranch, and Wild Cherry Canyon, shall not be impeded by the extension of the operation of the Diablo Canyon powerplant. (v) In the event of a final determination by the United States Department of Energy that the Diablo Canyon powerplant is not eligible for the Civil Nuclear Credit Program established by Section 18753 of Title 42 of the United States Code, subdivisions (d) to (m), inclusive, and subdivisions (p), (q), (s), and (t) shall cease to be operative, and the commission shall instead undertake ordinary ratemaking with respect to the Diablo Canyon powerplant. SEC. 3. The Legislature finds and declares that a special statute is necessary and that a general statute cannot be made applicable within the meaning of Section 16 of Article IV of the California Constitution because of the unique circumstances related to the Diablo Canyon nuclear powerplant. SEC. 4. No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution for certain costs that may be incurred by a local agency or school district because, in that regard, this act creates a new crime or infraction, eliminates a crime or infraction, or changes the penalty for a crime or infraction, within the meaning of Section 17556 of the Government Code, or changes the definition of a crime within the meaning of Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution. However, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that this act contains other costs mandated by the state, reimbursement to local agencies and school districts for those costs shall be made pursuant to Part 7 (commencing with Section 17500) of Division 4 of Title 2 of the Government Code. SEC. 5. This act is an urgency statute necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, or safety within the meaning of Article IV of the California Constitution and shall go into immediate effect. The facts constituting the necessity are: The Diablo Canyon nuclear powerplant is currently in extended operation while the Community Impacts Mitigation Program funding ended at the end of 2025.