Nuclear Regulators and Edison to Discuss San Onofre Restart

Southern California Edison officials will meet with Nuclear Regulatory Commission staffers next week to discuss the utility's plan to submit a proposed license amendment calling for the partial restart of the troubled San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station.

The meeting is scheduled for April 3 in Rockville, Md. NRC staff and Edison representatives plan to discuss the utility's plan to submit the license amendment, which would address compliance with the plant's technical specifications.

According to the NRC, the license amendment has yet to be filed, and no decision on the restart will be made during the meeting.

On Friday, Edison officials said they wanted the public meeting to push for the partial restart by summer to meet peak customer demands.

Last week, Edison announced that a consultant had determined the plant's Unit 2 could be safely restarted and operated at full power. However, the utility hopes to operate one unit at 70 percent power as a safety precaution, then shut it down after five months for steam generator tube inspections.

If the utility submits the amendment, officials said they would also submit a "No Significant Hazards Consideration" analysis to demonstrate that it does not involve any significant safety risks.

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

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

Anti-nuclear activists are opposing the proposed partial restart.

Members of the environmental group Friends of the Earth said operating either reactor would threaten public safety. The group also objected to the meeting being held out of state because local interested parties would not be able to participate.

- City News Service