Keeping the two-unit Diablo Canyon nuclear power station in California open until 2030 will not only ensure that California can keep the lights on without backsliding on its climate goals, it will also save customers $200m (€179m) per year on average – or more than $1bn – over the duration of the extended operations period, according to Maureen Zawalick, vice-president of business and technical services at the facility.

Zawalick said in an op-ed in the Sacramento Bee newspaper that operating the station from 2024 to 2030 will cost roughly $8.3bn, $1.2bn of which is being paid for by state and federal programmes.

That leaves a remaining $7.1bn that will be paid by customers over the six-year period in question.

For the average customer in Diablo Canyon owner and operator PG&E’s service area, this works out to roughly $2 per month in 2025.

“The cost is significantly less for customers in Southern California, and the cost for all customers is expected to decrease significantly in the later years – to $0 in some years – of the plant’s extended operations, Zawalick said.