PEGGY: DAMAGED TUBES THAT CARRY RADIOACTIVE WATER THROUGH THE STEAM GENERATORS AT THE
SAN ONOFRE NUCLEAR POWER PLANT, SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA EDISON SAYS LAYOFFS ARE COMING BECAUSE THE
REDUCTION OF EMPLOYEES TO 1500 WILL REDUCE OPERATING COSTS WHILE REGULATORS CONSIDER
THE VIABILITY OF THE PLANT.
HERE TO TALK ABOUT STAFFING AT NUCLEAR FACILITYSIS NUCLEAR CONTAINMENT EXPERT AND SDSU PROFESSOR
MURRAY JENNEX.
YOU WORKED AT THE SAN ONOFRE GENERATING STATION FOR 20 YEARS, YOU ALSO WROTE A PAPER ON WHO
TO HIRE AND WHO TO LAYOFF AT NUCLEAR FACILITIES.
SHOULD WE ALL BE SURPRISED BY THESE LAYOFFS?
>> >>MURRAY JENNEX: NOT AT ALL.
REMEMBER THEY JUST GOT DONE ADDING THE GENERATORS A COUPLE OF YEARS AGO.
THEY KEPT THAT STAFFED BECAUSE OF THE PROBLEM OF THIS OUTAGE.
THEY PROBABLY WOULD HAVE BEEN GONE HAD THIS ISSUE NOT COME UP.
>> >>PEGGY: SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA EDISON TOLD US THEY WERE NOT DOING ON?AIR INTERVIEWS AT
THIS TIME, BUT THEY HAVE AN UPDATE ON THE PROGRESS SAYING THEY ARE DEFUELING UNIT THREE
AND DO NOT EXPECT TO SUBMIT AN ACTION LETTER ON THOSE REPAIRS BEFORE THE END OF THE YEAR.
MURRAY, DOES DEFUELING UNIT THREE MEAN THEY HAVEN'T FIGURED OUT WHAT TO DO TWHIS REACTOR
OR SOMETHING ELSE?
>> >>MURRAY JENNEX: ACTUALLY T MEANS THAT THEY'RE PUT TG INTO A LOW?COST MAINTENANCE
SITUATION.
THE DEFUELING REDUCES THE STAFFING REQUIREMENT TO OPERATE OR MAINTAIN THE PLANT.
THIS IS A VERY NORMAL ACTIVITY THAT THEY DO EVERY REFUELING ANYWAY.
>> >>PEGGY: AND THEY NEED TO DEFUEL IN ORDER TO MAKE THE REPAIRS AS WELL.
>> >>MURRAY JENNEX: THEY WOULDN'T NECESSARILY HAVE TO, BUT BY DEFUELING, IT MAKES IT A LOT
EASIER TO DO THE MAINTENANCE.
>> >>PEGGY: THERE'S RADIOACTIVE WASTE, OR FUEL AS IT'S CALLED, AT THE PLANT.
WHERE WILL THAT BE STORED DURING THIS DEFUELING OR WHERE WILL IT BE KEPT?
>> >>MURRAY JENNEX: THEY HAVE A FUEL BUILDING THAT'S DESIGNED TO HOLD THE FUEL WHEN THEY
TAKE IT OUT, AND IT ALSO HOLDS THE HOTTEST WASTE.
>> >>PEGGY: IS THERE ENOUGH ROOM THERE TO STOREй??
>> >>MURRAY JENNEX: ABSOLUTELY, FOR NOW THERE IS.
>> >>PEGGY: OKAY, SO SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA EDISON SAYS THEY HAVEN'T DETERMINED WHICH DEPARTMENTS
WILL BE AFFECTED BY THE LAYOFFS.
IN CASES LIKE THIS, WHAT DO YOU SUSPECT?
ARE THERE CERTAIN PEOPLE WHO TYPICALLY GET LAID OFF FROM NUCLEAR POWER PLANTS?
>> >>MURRAY JENNEX: THERE ARE PEOPLE WHO ARE BROUGHT IN FOR OUTAGES OR SPECIAL PROJECTS.
IF THEY'RE GOING TO CUT INTO PERMANENT STAFF, THEY WU WOULD LOOK AT WHAT THE KNOWLEDGE NEEDS
CAPABILITIES ARE TO OPERATE THE PLANT AS THEY EXPECT TO SEE IT.
THEY WILL DO AN ANALYSIS TO SEE WHICH EXPERTISE THEY CAN USE.
>> >>PEGGY: SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA EDISON SAYS THE DOWN SIZING EFFORT STARTED ABOUT TWO YEARS
AGO BECAUSE THEIR STAFFING COSTS WERE HIGHER THAN SIMILAR PLANTS.
IS THAT SOMETHING THEY DO ROUTINELY, A FINANCIAL EVALUATIONS FOR THE SHAREHOLDERS OR FOR WHOMEVER?
>> >>MURRAY JENNEX: ACTUALLY, IT IS.
THEY STARTED DOING A BENCH MARKING EXERCISE IN ABOUT THE YEAR 2000.
SINCE THEN THEY'VE BEEN ON GOING.
ALL THE PLANTS COMPARE THEMSELVES.
NUCLEAR INDUSTRY LOOKS AT THEMSELVES AS COMPETITORS WITH OTHER POWER PRODUCING INDUSTRIES.
>> >>PEGGY: TYPICALLY YOU SAID A PLANT THIS SIZE WOULD HAVE ABOUT 1300 EMPLOYES AND WE
HAVE 1500.
>> >>MURRAY JENNEX: THEY COULD PROBABLY GO WITH 1300.
WHAT I EXPECT THEY'RE DOING IS ALLOWING NATURAL ATTRITION TO LOWER IT MORE.
>> >>PEGGY: DO YOU THINK THE LAYOFFS COMBINED WITH THE TUBE ISSUES IS POINTING TO A PERMANENT
SHUT DOWN OF THE PLANT?
>> >>MURRAY JENNEX: I DON'T THINK YOU CAN READ THAT AT ALL.
I THEY DON'T THINK THEY'RE LOWERING THE COSTS TO BE PRUDENT, WHICH IS WHAT THE RATE PAYERS
WOULD EXPECT.
I THINK THEY UNDERSTAND POLITICALLY THEY'RE NOT GOING TO GET UNITED THREE RUNNING RIGHT
AWAY, AND I THINK THEY'RE GOING TO BE DOING AN ON GOING ECONOMIC ANALYSIS TO SEE WHAT
IS THE MOST PRUDENT ACTIVITY TO DO WITH THE UNIT.
>> >>PEGGY: WE'RE OFTEN TOLD THERE'S A STRAIN ON OUR POWER GRID, NO ROLLING BLACKOUTS, BROWN
OUTS, WE HAVE THE SUN RISE POUR LINK, THE TURBINES IN MEXICO.
DO WE NEED SAN ONOFRE ANYMORE?
>> >>MURRAY JENNEX: WELL, THE NEED IS MORE ECONOMIC THAN IT IS, I GUESS, FROM A PURE
POWER REQUIREMENT.
THE POWER LINK HAS DEFINITELY IMPROVED POWER RELIABILITY IN SAN DIEGO.
BUT SAN ONOFRE HAS BEEN A LOW COST PROVIDER FOR MANY YEARS.
PLUS THE CONCERN I STILL HAVE IS I DON'T THINK YOU CAN HAVE A LARGE AREA WITH A LARGE POPULATION
AND NOT HAVE SOME POWER PRODUCTION LOCAL.
RIGHT NOW, WE'RE RELYING ON EXTERNAL SOURCES.
THAT WON'T ALWAYS BE AVAILABLE.
>> >>PEGGY: ALL RIGHT.
WELL, WE'VE RUN OUT OF TIME.
THERE'S MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THIS AND WHAT IT COULD MEAN AS FAR AS FOR TAX PAYERS AND
RATE PAYERS ON OUR WEBSITE.
MURRAY JENNEX, THANKS SO MUCH FOR BEING HERE.