PUC San Onofre proposal wins praise

http://www.latimes.com/business/money/la-fi-mo-puc-san-onofre-proposal-wins-praise-20140212,0,4112463.story

PUC San Onofre proposal wins praise
By Marc Lifsher
February 13, 2014, 7:00 a.m.

Much if not all of the electric power once provided by the San Onofre nuclear power plant could be replaced with energy from non-fossil-fuel sources, says a proposed decision pending at the California Public Utilities Commission.

The procurement plan written by an administrative law judge is expected to be debated and possibly voted upon next month by the five-member commission.

Two principal partners in the shuttered plant, Southern California Edison Co. and San Diego Gas & Electric Co., would be required to procure at least 600 megawatts of power from so-called preferred resources, which include wind and solar power, energy efficiency programs, electricity storage systems and locally generation from roof-top panels.

However, the proposed decision also leaves the door open for utilities to purchase power from natural-gas-fired power plants if needed to provide reliability to the grid when renewables aren't enough.