California Electric Reliability Is Top Concern for FERC

Edison International’s plans to retire two Southern California nuclear reactors has made the state’s ability to generate sufficient power a top concern of federal regulators.

Edison’s Southern California Edison electricity utility said today it will permanently shut the 2,200-megawatt San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station, closed since January 2012, because of uncertainty over when or if regulators would allow the reactors to return to service. The plant, midway between Los Angeles and San Diego, was shut down after a radioactive leak and the discovery of unusual wear on tubes that transfer reactor heat to power-generating turbines.