California's shuttered San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station may restart by the end of the year, its owner told state regulators.

According to documents obtained by the Associated Press, Southern California Edison Co. is looking to bring the twin reactors back online in November and December, six months after they were shut down in response to wear on their tubing.

The dates were submitted to state officials for planning purposes and may change, Edison spokeswoman Jennifer Manfre said. They do not represent a request to actually restart the reactors, a move that would need to be approved by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

Federal regulators have detailed a series of requirements the company must meet before they will consider allowing the reactors to come back online. Company officials are expected today to release three months of financial and technical data for the plant, which may be a step to getting NRC's approval for a restart.

The reactors were shut down earlier this year, when extreme wear was found in the alloy tubes used at the station and traces of radiation escaped (AP/Washington Post, July 31). -- JE