MissingSky101·Published on Jun 7, 2013

Edison will shut down the San Onofre nuclear plant for good

San Onofre nuclear power plant to be closed permanently

By Abby Sewell, Los Angeles Times
June 7, 2013, 6:47 p.m.

Southern California Edison announced Friday it is permanently shutting down the troubled San Onofre nuclear plant, ending the region's four-decade venture into nuclear energy production.

The decision caps a 16-month debate about San Onofre's future but leaves the utility and state regulators grappling with who will ultimately pay more than $1 billion in costs.

One key question is whether Edison's ratepayers will see their bills increase as a result of either the shutdown or the need to purchase more expensive imported electricity to make up for what was lost from San Onofre.

Edison cited the mounting costs of the outage as the driving reason for retiring the plant.

The decision to close the plant for good means state officials must now move ahead with plans for a long-term energy future without the facility that once supplied power to about 1.4 million homes. The shutdown also means that 1,100 workers at the plant will lose their jobs.

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