Fallout Over Nuclear Energy Debacle Underway Forbes, Ken Silverstein, 19 July 13 It’s not a bombshell. But it is the fallout from the retirement of two nuclear units dotting Southern California’s coastline. Southern California Edison has just filed a so-called Notice of Dispute on its former vendor, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries. It is the first step toward gaining a settlement in what has become a huge blemish on the nuclear energy sector — the leakage of radiation at one of the units and the subsequent revelation that both companies had known about the underlying causes years before the incident. If the two are unable to reconcile, the case would then go to mandatory arbitration before it could get tried before a judge and jury. Judicial systems, though, are not prepared to resolve complex nuclear energy questions.
“Our action is about making sure that Mitsubishi takes responsibility for providing the defective steam generators that led to the closing of SONGS,” says Ron Litzinger, president of SCE, in a formal declaration.
SONGS refers to the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station owned by Southern California Edison. …. Edison is alleging that Mitsubishi, as designer and manufacturer of the steam generators, is responsible for the economic damages. …..
The price tag associated with all the woes: Estimated to be at least $700 million and as much as $2 billion. Just how will that be paid? Chairman Ted Craver explained on an earlier conference call that there are potentially four pools of money: ratepayers, shareholders, insurance companies and Mitsubishi Heavy………
Friends of the Earth which had led the attack on the utility since the leak, has said that Southern California Edison has been “untruthful.” The environmental organization has also said that while Mitsubishi does not have “clean hands” here, it merely designed the steam generators to meet the utility’s specifications.
The environmental organization added that the utility downplayed the design changes it had made so as to avoid public hearings, and scrutiny. In addition, it is highly critical that Edison denied any knowledge of issues with excessive vibrations — until the leaks surfaced in 2012. As a result of all this, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, the California Public Utility Commission and, perhaps, the Securities and Exchange Commission are investigating. It’s a huge legal morass — and one that court system is unaccustomed to hearing. That’s why the two sides should amicably resolve their dispute. http://www.forbes.com/sites/kensilverstein/2013/07/19/fallout-over-nuclear-energy-debacle-underway/2/
