A panel of experts within the Nuclear Regulatory Commission has ruled plans that could allow a reactor at the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station to run under reduced power amount to a license amendment requiring a potentially lengthy hearing process that could delay the restart planned for this summer.
Recently installed steam generators at both SONGS reactors experienced premature tube wear that has kept the plant idle for more than a year. With peak summer demand just around the corner, Southern California Edison planned to restart unit 2 temporarily at partial power after meeting the inspection and technical requirements outlined in an NRC confirmatory action letter related to the steam generators.
Friends of the Earth sought to stall or halt a restart, and on Tuesday the NRC's Atomic Safety and Licensing Board sided with the environmental group, according to an NRC release. Whether the ruling on the hearing requirement for the confirmatory action letter will actually delay a restart, though, is uncertain. The board's decision can be appealed to NRC commissioners. Further complicating the matter, SCE has pursued a second track to restart the reactors, filing for an amendment to unit 2's license that potentially could allow it to restart before a hearing takes place.