Dive Brief:

• San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E) is in talks with NRG Energy about the independent power producer (IPP) building a 588-MW peaking power plant in the utility's service territory.
• SDG&E has agreed to buy power from the plant in Carlsbad, California, as long as it is a peaking power plant.
• The new plant would help SDG&E replace its share of the 2,150-MW San Onofre nuclear plant, which was permanently shut down last summer.

Dive Insight:

Closing the San Onofre plant, which accounted for about 20% of SDG&E's power supply, and the looming shutdown of several power plants that use once-through-cooling has left Southern California utilities searching for new power supply. This is an opportunity for IPPs like NRG to fill some of the power needs for the region. However, some environmental groups and others are pushing for all the replacement power to come from energy efficiency and renewable resources.