San Onofre Nuclear Plant Offline after Generator Issues

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Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--This morning, one of California's largest power plants, the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station, was forced to take its 1,070-megawatt (MW) Unit 2 offline because of issues with the cooling water levels of the stator, a major component of the generator. Engineers discovered that the stator's cooling water level was low and removed the unit in order to prevent possible costly damage to several main components. Unimpeded flow of deionized water through the stator bars is critical in a generator's operation. Overheating of the stator bars can result in significant reduced generation or even catastrophic generator failure. Plant officials hope to have the unit restored by next week.

The station is located on the northwest corner of San Diego County, along the Pacific coast of California. Unit 1 began operation in 1968 but ceased operation in 1992. Units 2 and 3 continue to operate and are capable of producing 1,070 MW and 1,080 MW, respectively, enough electricity to power 1.5 million average homes.

The San Onofre station is jointly owned by Southern California Edison (SCE) (Rosemead, California) (78%), San Diego Gas & Electric (San Diego) (20%), and the city of Riverside (2%). SCE has more than a century's experience in providing electricity to central, coastal and southern California.

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