Southern California Edison

In response to a complaint filed by a former San Diego city attorney, an administrative judge with the California Public Utilities Commission has given Southern California Edison a March 15 deadline to file an accounting of its costs to replace steam generators at the San Onofre nuclear plant. The commission did not agree, however, to immediately stop collecting funds from ratepayers for the project. Problems with the replacement steam generators - installed in 2010 and 2011 - led to a shutdown of the plant that has stretched on for more than a year.

If what two federal lawmakers say is true, there's more to the shutdown at the San Onofre nuclear plant than the public has been told. According to Sens. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) and Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), a leaked internal report by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, which manufactured the problem-riddled steam generators that forced the shutdown, indicates that concerns about the generators' design were raised before they were even installed but that only minimal fixes were made. Southern California Edison, which owns the plant, denies this, which leaves ratepayers and the public in the dark.

Southern California Edison, the operator of the troubled San Onofre nuclear power plant, pushed back against two federal lawmakers who said that the utility company was aware of defects in the plant's replacement steam generators before they were installed. Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) and Rep. Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.) sent a letter to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission this week saying that a leaked report from steam generator manufacturer Mitsubishi Heavy Industries showed that Edison and Mitsubishi knew of problems with the design.

Southern California Edison was aware of problems with replacement steam generators at its San Onofre nuclear power plant but chose not to make fixes, U.S. Sen. Barbara Boxer charged Wednesday. Boxer cited a leaked report from Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, the manufacturer of the steam generators, obtained by her office. It is the first indication from government officials that Edison and Mitsubishi knew the system had problems before it was even installed. The nuclear plant, a prime supplier of power in Southern California, has been off line for more than a year after a small amount of radioactive steam leaked from the plant's tubing.

The environmental group Friends of the Earth made its case to federal regulators last week that Southern California Edison should be barred from restarting the San Onofre nuclear plant unless it goes through a trial-like hearing process. The meeting between Friends of the Earth and a U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission review board on Wednesday was the latest step in a dispute that has lasted for more than six months. San Onofre has been closed for nearly a year because of unusual wear on tubes at the plant, which resulted in a small leak of radioactive steam last January.

Federal regulators have sent Southern California Edison a new set of detailed questions that will help them evaluate the feasibility of a partial restart of the shuttered San Onofre nuclear plant. The plant, which once supplied enough power for about 1.4 million homes, has been out of service for close to a year because of unusual wear on steam generator tubes that carry radioactive water. Edison has requested permission to restart one of two reactor units at the plant and run it at 70% capacity for five months.

Federal regulators grilled Southern California Edison publicly for the first time Friday on its proposal to restart part of the troubled San Onofre nuclear power plant. San Onofre has been out of service for 10 months because of unusual wear on steam generator tubes. A small radiation leak developed as a result and prompted a shutdown in January. The steam generators had been replaced less than two years earlier, costing co-owners Edison and San Diego Gas & Electric a combined $771 million.

SACRAMENTO - Almost 5 million Southern California Edison Co. customers in hundreds of cities and communities across the southern, central and coastal parts of the state will be hit with higher electric bills early next year and bigger hikes in each of the following two years. The decision, which Edison says will add an average of $7 a month to residential bills for the first year, covers Edison's costs to provide service, which amounts to about half a ratepayer's bill. Other costs for buying fuel and contracting for power deliveries fluctuate and are passed directly to consumers.

Edison International saw its third-quarter profit fall 55% because of lower energy prices and higher utility costs. The Rosemeadcompany also blamed a delayed decision on rate increases by California regulators. Edison, which owns the Southern California Edison utility, was also hit hard by costs associated with inspections and repairs to its San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station. The utility's two nuclear reactors were closed after problems were discovered in steam generators, and they haven't produced electricity since January.

For more than eight months, ratepayers of Southern California Edison have been paying $54 million a month - a per-customer average of more than $10 - for a nuclear power plant that has been delivering no electricity. This situation should never have been allowed to drag on for so long. Part of that $10-a-month cost was imposed several years ago when Edison, the majority owner of the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station, purchased new steam generators for the plant. At that time, it sought and was granted a special rate increase to cover the $671-million cost, the argument being that ratepayers would benefit from safe, reliable electricity.