Decommissioning

Under all NRC operating licenses, once a nuclear plant ceases generating power, it must be decommissioned.  Decommissioning is defined by federal regulation (10 CFR 50.2) as the safe removal of a facility from service along with the reduction of residual radioactivity to a level that permits termination of the NRC operating license.  Decommissioning is intended to restore a nuclear facility to such a condition that it presents no risk to public health and safety or the environment.  For more details on decommissioning, see the NRC’s description.

In preparation for a plant’s eventual decommissioning, all nuclear plant owners must maintain trust funds while the plants are in operation to ensure sufficient amounts will be available to decommission their facilities.  Utilities operating nuclear power plants collect monthly fees on customers’ electric bills to fund these trusts, which are further augmented over the life of the plant from returns on investment in fixed income (bonds) and equity (stocks).  The following tables show all of the decommissioning trust funds maintained by California utilities, as well as each facility’s Decommissioning Cost Estimate (DCE), the amounts spent on decommissioning activities, and the amount (if any) currently collected in rates. 

All data are obtained through data requests to the relevant utilities and are current through January 1, 2024.  Readers should take careful note of the vintage of the dollars shown in the tables below: different vintages can explain why numbers may not sum up precisely across columns; another reason why the DCE may not equal the sum of Total Spent and Trust Fund Balance is that the DCE is reviewed and approved triennially in a CPUC proceeding, while the Total Spent and Trust Fund Balances are current as of the date of the data request.

PG&E ($ in millions)
Nuclear Plant Total Decommissioning Cost Estimate* Total Spent** Trust Fund Balance*** Current Annual Collections in Rates****

DCPP 1

$2,006

$60

$1,920

$0

DCPP 2

$1,954

$60

$2,523 

$0

DCPP
NQT*****

N/A

$0

$0

$0
HBPP 3   $1,127 $1,005  $126  $0

* Amounts shown are in nominal/2020$ for DCPP and nominal/2021$ for HBPP.

** Amounts shown are nominal $ spent as of 12/31/24

*** Amounts shown are in 2024$ as of 12/31/24

****Combined DCPP 1 and DCPP 2 Non-Qualified Trust.

 

SCE ($ in millions)

Nuclear Plant 

Total Decommissioning Cost Estimate *

Total Spent***

Trust Fund Balance****

Current Annual Collections in Rates

SONGS 1

NA**

$710

$344

$0

SONGS 2

$2,328

$1,383

$860

$0

SONGS 3

$2,559

$1,421

$1,110

$0

Palo Verde 1  $220  $0  $520   $0
Palo Verde 2  $219  $0  $532  $0
 Palo Verde 3 $219  $0   $548 $0 
* Amounts shown for SONGS 2&3 are from the 2024 DCE, as submitted to the Commission in A.24-12-003, escalated to 2024$.  Amounts for Palo Verde DCE are from the SCE 2023 Palo Verde DCE as submitted to the Commission in A.24-12-003, escalated to 2024$.
** The cost estimate for SCE’s share of the “to-go” decommissioning activities at SONGS 1, as set forth in the SCE 2024 SONGS 1 DCE submitted to the Commission in A.24-12-003 is $184 million in 2024$.
*** Amounts shown are in nominal $ spent as of 12/31/24 for SONGS 1 and 2024$ spent as of 12/31/24 for SONGS 2&3.
**** Amounts shown are in 2024$ as of 12/31/24
SDG&E ($ in millions)
Nuclear Plant Total Decommissioning Cost Estimate*
(Including "SDG&E" Only costs)		 Total Spent*** Trust Fund Balance**** Current Annual Collections in Rates*****
SONGS 1 $61** $135 $146 $0
SONGS 2 $639 $309 $303 $0
SONGS 3 $702 $322 $371 $0

* Amounts shown for SONGS 1 and SONGS Units 2&3 are from 2024 DCE, as submitted to the Commission in A.24-12-003, including "SDG&E-Only" cost escalated to 2024$.

** The cost estimate for the remaining decommissioning activities at SONGS 1, as set forth in the SCE 2024 SONGS 1 DCE submitted to the Commission in A24-12-003, is $295 million in 2024$.

*** Represents spend through December 31, 2024, in nominal $.

**** Represents Trust Liquidation Values as of December 31, 2024, in nominal $.

***** The annual collection amount of $0 excludes the rent for the storage of SONGS1 spent fuel at the GE-Hitachi facility in Morris, Illinois.  This cost authorized via SDG&E's ERRA proceeding, but reflected on customer's bills as a nuclear decommissioning charge.

Proceedings

Every three years, in the Nuclear Decommissioning Cost Triennial Proceeding (NDCTP), the CPUC reviews forecasts by the utilities of their expected decommissioning costs. The 2009 NDCTP was completed in 2013; the 2012 NDCTP was completed in 2014; and the 2015 NDTCP for PG&E was recently completed (the 2015 NDCTP for SONGS is ongoing see link below). Withdrawals from the trust funds are subject to a reasonableness review by the CPUC. These reviews are conducted in proceedings before the Commission as the utilities submit them. Recent proceedings that included reasonableness reviews are listed below: