The workforce at a shuttered California nuclear plant will be cut by one-third, the plant's owner said yesterday as it signaled that the facility's long-term future is uncertain.

Southern California Edison Co. (SCE) said that it would eliminate 730 positions at the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station (SONGS), shrinking staff to 1,500.

The move comes as the company struggles to fix the San Diego County plant, which has been closed since a January radiation leak in the Unit 3 steam generator. Problems later were found in the Unit 2 generator as well.

"The steam generator issues at SONGS ... require that SCE be prudent with its future spending while SCE and regulators review the long-term viability of the nuclear plant," the utility said in a statement yesterday, the first to acknowledge that sustainability is in question.

"The reality is that the Unit 3 reactor will not be operating for some time," SCE added.

SCE's parent company warned investors earlier this month that fixing or replacing the equipment could be difficult and costly (Greenwire, Aug. 2). The utility paid $665 million, including inflation, for units that were installed as replacements in 2009 and 2010. They were supposed to last 40 years.

Edison in the statement yesterday said that the workforce cutback also was tied to a reorganization first considered two years ago.

The move is "part of the larger SONGS Excellence plan to align SCE's processes and staffing levels with the top performing nuclear operating plants in the industry and its benchmarked best practices," Edison said. It said that costs at the location were far larger than those at similarly sized nuclear plants.

But a nuclear watchdog who has been tracking the plant for several years was skeptical of the explanation.

"It sounds like the two-year plan business is cover for the reality that they now for the very first time admit that longtime viability of the plant is in question," said Dan Hirsch, who lectures on nuclear power at University of California, Santa Cruz. "It's a stunning statement."

Hirsch also said the rationale that SCE was cutting workers as part of an "excellence plan" was peculiar.

"That makes no sense at all," Hirsch said. "You want to run a plant better, you bring in more employees -- you don't get rid of a third of them."

He also questioned whether the troubled plant could be run safely with fewer workers.

"That just to me sends off alarm bells," Hirsch said.

SCE did not respond to questions sent yesterday evening. The utility first announced the layoffs in a press release sent at 5:30 p.m. local time.

The cutbacks will take place in the fall, Edison said.

Multiple investigations

In addition to the expense of fixing or replacing generators at SONGS, Edison is working against a deadline. If a plant is closed for nine months, the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) must open an inquiry into whether the facility is needed.

A statewide ratepayer advocate, meanwhile, has asked CPUC to cut rates for customers of Edison and San Diego Gas & Electric Co. (SDG&E) because those consumers are paying for San Onofre costs but not receiving power from the plant. SDG&E is a minority owner of SONGS.

CPUC has indicated that it will look at all matters concerning SONGS in November.

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission already is looking into the January radiation leak and what steps would be needed before allowing a restart at San Onofre.

California's grid operator is studying the impact of a long-term future without the nuclear power plant (Greenwire, Aug. 2).