San Onofre removal may cost $4.1 billion
Operators of the San Onofre nuclear power plant say it may cost $4.1 billion and take 15 years to tear down the troubled plant and restore the Southern California coastal site to its pristine condition.
The Orange County Register says the estimate was made Tuesday at a hearing of the state Senate energy committee in Sacramento.
Southern California Edison announced in June that it’s permanently closing the plant, which went offline last year because of excessive wear in tubes that carry radioactive water.
Edison is seeking to recover some shutdown costs from insurers and the tube manufacturer but has indicated ratepayers may have to cough up hundreds of millions or even billions of dollars.
