San Onofre Reactor’s Shutdown for Servicing to Add to Energy Crunch

In the middle of California’s wildly vacillating energy crisis, the state’s second-largest utility said Wednesday that it plans to shut down one of its two nuclear reactors next week for 45 days for refueling and routine maintenance.

Recognizing that the move would generate criticism and even anger, Southern California Edison sought to reassure its 11 million customers that their lights will not go out when the San Onofre Unit III reactor goes offline Tuesday after 600 consecutive days in operation--the usual length of time a reactor operates before servicing.

However, the utility, which has been struggling to meet demand and last week raised the threat of rationing, stopped short of making any promises about power supplies.

“Obviously, there’ll be 1,100 megawatts unavailable in the state and that will make supplies tighter,” Edison spokesman Ray Golden said Wednesday. “But it comes at a relatively good period of time.” Other fuels, such as oil and natural gas, will help offset the loss, he said.

“If we get into the situation, which is a possibility but I think a remote one, that demand for power exceeds the state’s ability to generate enough in the state or purchase power from out of state, then you have to get into Stage 3 power emergencies, which could lead to rotating blackout conditions.

“Again, we don’t see that happening,” Golden said.

The California Independent System Operator, a quasi-public agency charged with keeping energy flowing throughout the state, said that any time a reactor is shut down there is a noticeable strain, and the impact is even greater this year because of volatile market conditions.

Stephanie McCorkle, an Independent System Operator spokeswoman, agreed that Southern California could probably get by without the Unit III power.

“It looks like the power supply picture in Southern California will be OK” in the immediate future, McCorkle said, because other, nonnuclear power sources in the region that had been offline for maintenance are now coming back online.

Harry Snyder, a senior advocate for Consumers Union, the nonprofit publisher of Consumer Reports magazine, said that regardless of Edison’s reason for the shutdown, it will inevitably lead to more fear about blackouts and will drive high prices even higher.

“Remember, if they shut down the plant for maintenance or any other reason, there’ll be less power available, the price will then go up, and then they will sell the power they generate in the state of California for higher prices,” he said.

Edison is the state’s second-largest supplier of power, after Pacific Gas & Electric. The twin San Onofre reactors, located on the coast just south of Orange County, generate about 2,300 megawatts of electricity. That output represents about 20% of Southern California’s power supply and ranks San Onofre as the second-biggest producer of electrical power among the nation’s operating nuclear plants, Golden said.

McCorkle pointed out that the state has faced and survived many close calls, at times scrambling to meet demand with as much as 11,000 megawatts offline. The last challenge similar to the San Onofre shutdown was when PG&E;’s Diablo Canyon reactor was being refueled last month. In that case, a cold snap aggravated the situation, McCorkle said.

Golden said it is the Independent System Operator’s responsibility to ensure that customers get their power while the reactor is down, because under the conditions of the deregulated marketplace, utilities no longer directly supply their customers.

“We will do our part to get the reactor refueled and conduct the maintenance we need to and get the reactor back online as soon as we can,” he said.

Last week, Edison threatened to ration supplies over the Christmas holiday because accumulating debt is hurting its ability to buy the power it needs.

Golden said debt issues are completely unrelated to shutdown of Unit III, which has been scheduled for maintenance “for a long, long time now.”

“The two things have nothing to do with each other,” he said.

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Down Time

San Onofre’s Unit III reactor will be shut down for refueling and maintenance for 45 days, starting Jan. 2, according to Southern California Edison officials. The process, which is done about every 18 months, means the plant will produce 1,100 fewer megawatts at any given time.

Sources: SCE, San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station