San Onofre Fire’s Impact on Power Crisis Is Uncertain

It may be days, even weeks, before California discovers whether the shutdown of a reactor after a fire Sunday at San Onofre Nuclear Power Station will have a significant impact on the state’s energy crisis, authorities said Monday.

The No. 3 reactor was shut down Jan. 2 for routine maintenance, and was scheduled to come back online Feb. 16. But the maintenance finished ahead of schedule, and Southern California Edison was powering up the reactor Sunday when an electrical short caused a large circuit breaker to catch fire, automatically shutting down the reactor.

Inspectors from the Nuclear Regulatory Agency are expected to arrive today to investigate, though it will be up to Edison to determine when the reactor can restart.

An Edison spokesman said the utility will determine what needs to be replaced or repaired. That will take several weeks, the spokesman said.

The reactor, one of two in use at the plant, provides enough energy for 1.1 million homes.

“We had hoped to have those 1,120 megawatts to aid California in its electrical needs [by Feb. 16],” said Ray Golden, Southern California Edison spokesman. “If . . . not, it will be up to the Independent System Operator to continue to find electricity to provide to California residents and businesses while we continue to do repair work on the plant.”

Stephanie McCorkle, a spokeswoman for the Independent System Operator, a quasi-public agency charged with keeping energy flowing throughout the state, said, “It’s 1,100 megawatts of power, so of course it has an impact. Supplies are tight.”

The fire broke out in an equipment room about 3:30 p.m. Sunday, authorities said. About 20 firefighters, from both San Onofre and nearby Camp Pendleton, quickly extinguished the smoky blaze.

No radiation was released and no one was injured, Golden said.

The Nuclear Regulatory Agency, which has a full-time representative at the plant, expects its inspection team to “make sure we understand everything that happened,” said Breck Henderson, a spokesman for the NRC.

But Edison will determine if the reactor is ready to come back online. “Edison has complete authority to run the plant and make those decisions,” Henderson said.