The commission that regulates California’s utilities just approved a lower investor return rate for the next two years. That can affect costs to customers, but it’s not clear if it will reduce their monthly bills.

Santa Barbara County denied Sable Offshore Corporation the right to operate several oil and gas facilities, including a pipeline that caused the 2015 Refugio Oil Spill. But, a new federal filing shows the company may be pursuing another path forward.

Over the last few months, the Trump administration has made moves to open up more of California’s coastline to offshore drilling — including here on the Central Coast.

The Diablo Canyon Power Plant received an important approval it will need to continue operating after its planned 2030 closure date.

Monterey County Health Department officials said contractors are on track to finish cleanup of an oil and wastewater spill at the San Ardo Oil Field.

A federal appeals court has thrown out a judge’s order requiring San Luis Obispo County to send more water from Lopez Lake into the Arroyo Grande Creek. Meanwhile, some environmentalists say the order for additional water would protect the endangered Steelhead Trout.

Farmworker communities and environmental groups across the state are calling for stronger protections from a pesticide they say endangers public health.

The debate over California’s energy future and the role of the Diablo Canyon Nuclear Power Plant continues. State regulators are pressing Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E), the plant’s operator, to make stronger environmental commitments.

After hours of heated debate, the future of offshore oil production off the Santa Barbara coast continues to be uncertain. County Supervisors rejected a proposal that would allow an oil company to operate an offshore oil field connected to the 2015 Refugio Oil Spill.

A California judge has sided with state regulators in the fight over restarting the oil pipeline that ruptured at Refugio Beach in 2015.