Southern California Edison released a draft of its proposed operating license amendment for the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station ahead of a Wednesday Nuclear Regulatory Commission hearing to discuss the license and plans to partially restart the plant by summer.

Edison volunteered for the amendment in response to pressure from environmental groups, one of which filed a legal complaint with the NRC demanding court-like license amendment hearings with sworn testimony about the plant’s operation.

The San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station sprang a radioactive steam leak in January 2012. Subsequent inspections revealed that more than 1,300 components were flawed beyond repair, even though the steam generators, which contained them, were only about two years old.

Now, Edison wants to restart its Unit 2 reactor at 70 percent power — which has much less damage than Unit 3 and was offline for routine maintenance when the leak happened. Edison said operating Unit 2 — the reactor where the leak did not occur — at a lower power level would allow it to supply electricity to the region
during the summer months without causing any potential damage to the tubes.

“Since last fall, SCE has provided the public and the NRC with detailed analyses from global experts that support safe restart of Unit 2,” said Ron
Litzinger, SCE president. “We are considering the proposed voluntary amendment as the best path to get Unit 2 safely up and running before the hottest months of the year hit our region.”

Click here for the full story.