LOS ANGELES — Southern California utility officials are warning that blackouts in the region are possible this summer as a result of the sidelined San Onofre nuclear power plant.
The damaged plant is likely to remain shut down until at least the end of August while investigators probe excessive wear in tubing that carries radioactive water, the plants operator said Thursday.
The officials say if a heat wave hits while the twin-reactor plant is offline, rotating blackouts are a possibility. Utilities have been scrambling to find replacement power as a precaution, including restarting two retired natural gas-fired plants in Orange County.
Southern California Edison said the company intends to submit a plan by the end of July to federal regulators to restart the Unit 2 reactor, where damage to tubes in its steam generators has been less severe than in its twin, Unit 3.
A proposal to restart either reactor must be approved by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, and that review could take weeks or longer. Edison spokeswoman Jennifer Manfre said its likely the plant between San Diego and Los Angeles will remain offline at least through August.
The trouble began in January, when the Unit 3 reactor was shut down as a precaution after a tube break. Traces of radiation escaped, but officials said there was no danger to workers or neighbors. Unit 2 had been taken offline earlier that month for maintenance, but investigators later found unexpected wear on hundreds of tubes in both units.
Gradual wear is common in such tubing, but the rate of erosion at San Onofre alarmed officials because the generators are relatively new. The company has said 1,300 tubes will be taken out of service, although the number is well within the margin to allow the generators to keep operating.
The company has found that the wear is being caused by vibration and friction with adjacent tubes and bracing, but investigators have yet to say why thats happening or how they will fix it.
The NRC has said there is no timetable to restart the reactors, which were replaced in 2009 and 2010 in a $670 million overhaul.
About 7.4 million Californians live within 50 miles of San Onofre, which can power 1.4 million homes.
Safety issues at the plant have attracted congressional scrutiny, and some officials in nearby communities have called for San Onofre to be shut down permanently. The Irvine City Council urged the NRC to review safety conditions at the plant before it is considered for relicensing in 2022.
Source: www.htrnews.com
California could use some Wisconsin reforms - Vacaville Reporter
The governor's sound fiscal policies and collective-bargaining reform initiatives speak for themselves. For example, reducing public union control of state finances has benefited Wisconsin taxpayers, as statewide property taxes fell by 0.4 percent in 2011, while local school districts have been able to renegotiate health-care and labor contracts, saving taxpayers an additional $1 billion.
Wisconsin's business climate is also improving, with more than half the state's businesses planning to expand in the next two years; the highest rate in a decade, according to a survey released last week by Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce.
The true winners have been Wisconsin taxpayers.
California's elected leaders should heed the advice of U.S. President Franklin Roosevelt (a Democrat) who stated that collective-bargaining rights "cannot be transplanted into the public service."
California legislators need to grasp the fact that an overwhelming majority of the state's private-sector taxpayers have grown weary of the excessive perks (wages, benefits and pensions) and the outsized sway public unions hold over them. Now is the time to break the symbiotic embrace of the public unions, which have placed their special interests above
the general interests of the majority of state taxpayers.California can no longer afford a budget burdened with costly earmarks, ineffective programs and, despite creative accounting practices, is still deficit-riddled.
This union member believes now is the time for some intuitive and imaginative thinking regarding our own state budget. Gov. Walker has shown the nation that democracies can reform before an entitlement-rich budget crisis becomes incapacitating.
Bottom line: California's elected officials need to embrace the best of Walker's bold initiatives. Public union collective-bargaining reform would be a great place to start.
Bob Millmann
Vacaville
Source: www.thereporter.com
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