San Onofre nuclear power plant closure

A public workshop Tuesday about safety and the storage of radioactive nuclear waste at the closed San Onofre nuclear plant is not as public as some activists would like it to be. (Photo: The sun sets behind the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station in northern San Diego County).

Southern California Edison decided to permanently shut down the San Onofre nuclear power plant today after a 16 month debate over whether or not it would be re-opened.

Southern California Edison decided to permanently shut down the San Onofre nuclear power plant today after a 16 month debate over whether or not it would be re-opened. The plant closed nearly a year and a half ago because of damaged steam generators that caused leakage of radioactive steam. The utility company had expected to restart the plant, but the chairman of Edison International said the uncertainty over whether it would re-open was not good for customers or investors. Before its closure, the 40-year-old nuclear plant provided power to about 1.4 million homes in southern California. It is one of just two nuclear power plants in California.

How much will the plant’s closure cost customers? Where will the replacement power come from?

Guests:
Mark Pocta, program manager of the Division of Ratepayer Advocates at the CA Public Utilities Commission

Coral Davenport, energy and environment correspondent for the National Journal