Utility Pushes For Partial Restart Of San Onofre Plant

ROSEMEAD (CNS) - Southern California Edison wants a public meeting with  the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to push for the partial restart of the  troubled San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station by summer to meet peak customers  demands, the plant operator announced today.

``We want to do every responsible thing we can do to get Unit 2 up and  running safely before the summer heat hits our region,'' Edison President Ron  Litzinger said. ``While the NRC continues to review the technical materials  we've submitted, we're considering a request for a license amendment so that we  can pursue the best path to safe restart while avoiding unnecessary delays.''

Rosemead-based Edison is requesting a meeting with the commission to  discuss the possible amendment. The meeting would be open to the public, and  would provide an opportunity for Edison officials to discuss with the  commission the scope and content of a potential amendment to ensure it meets  regulatory requirements.

San Onofre's two reactors have been shuttered since January 2012. One  was down for planned maintenance when a the second was shut down due to a small  leak. A subsequent investigation found that steam generator tubes in the  reactors degrade faster than expected.

On Monday, Edison announced that a consultant had determined that Unit 2  could be safely restarted and operated at full power.

However, anti-nuclear activists are against the restart plan, arguing  that the steam generators should have had an extensive license amendment  process.

A London-based nuclear engineer for the group called Friends of the  Earth said the same consultant report touted by Edison actually indicates that  the plant will progressively destroy itself.

Edison is proposing to restart one of the units at 70 percent power for  five months, followed by it being shut down again and inspected for leaks. So  far, there is no proposed restart date for the other unit.

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is expected to make a decision on the  restart plan in late April or May.

Edison owns just over 78 percent of the plant. San Diego Gas & Electric  owns 20 percent and the city of Riverside owns just under 2 percent.

Posted by David Perez