Dive Brief:
- California customers will pay $3.3 billion over 10 years for costs related to the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station (SONGS) shutdown, under a settlement being considered by California regulators.
- The settlement would provide consumer refunds and credits of approximately $1.3 billion, and adjusts the rate for return for shareholders to less than 3% for investments related to SONGS. Ratepayers would still pay the bulk of the $4.7 billion price tag for the shutdown
- The settlement has the support of ratepayer advocates and would save consumers approximately $420 million over the 10-year depreciation period by adjusting the rate of return for shareholders.
Dive Insight:
The settlement largely mirrors a proposal from March, except it addresses lawsuits and future insurance payouts to shareholders related to the SONGS shutdown, the LA Times reports. "It's the same bottom line," Matthew Freedman, a lawyer for The Utility Reform Network, the newspaper.
The settlement will just be one among many related to the $4.7 billion lost on the shuttered facility. The proposed decision will be considered by the California Public Utilities Commission at the Nov. 20 meeting.
“After careful consideration, I believe the settlement results in just and reasonable rates, is consistent with the law, reasonable in light of the whole record, and in the public interest,” said CPUC Commissioner Mike Florio, who was among parties requesting the original settlement be amended.
Not everyone supports the proposed settlement, however. San Diego attorney Mike Aguirre calls the proposed settlement a "travesty of justice" and says the settlement should call for an investigation by the PUC into Southern California Edison and its purchases of defective generators.
