2. Background
San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station (SONGS)1 is located on the California coast 62 miles southeast of Los Angeles, in San Diego County, near the City of San Clemente. The site is located within the boundaries of the Camp Pendleton Marine Corps Base. Each of the two units in operation at SONGS has two steam generators in which the heat from water circulated through the reactor is used to turn another stream of water into steam to power turbines that turn electric generators.
By Application (A.) 06-04-018, San Diego Gas and Electric Company (SDG&E) requested, in part, the Commission's approval of its participation in the Steam Generator Replacement Program (SGRP) for SONGS Units 2 and 3. We had previously authorized Southern California Edison's (SCE) participation in the SGRP in Decision (D.) 05-12-040.2 By D.06-11-026, we approved an unopposed settlement between SDG&E, the Division of Ratepayer Advocates (DRA), and SCE, of the ratemaking treatment of SDG&E's share of the costs related to the SGRP at SONGS Units 2 and 3. This ratemaking treatment was consistent with what we authorized for SCE in D.05-12-040. The settlement also authorized SDG&E to recover, through a two-way balancing account (Balancing Account), in which the difference between authorized and actual SONGS operations and maintenance (O&M) expenses billed by SCE are recorded. The approved settlement stated that this Balancing Account would remain in effect through SDG&E's next General Rate Case (GRC) cycle that commenced on January 1, 2008, and, after January 1, 2008, SDG&E would be allowed to file an application to continue this Balancing Account.3 Since SDG&E's last GRC covered a 2004 Test Year (TY) and three attrition years, we interpreted the settlement to mean that we authorized the Balancing Account from January 1, 2007 through December 31, 2011.4
In its TY 2012 GRC application,5 SDG&E requested a continuation of its Balancing Account. This request includes testimony, as required by D.06-11-026, that addresses whether 100% recovery provides it with any incentive to minimize such costs.6
On May 16, 2011, Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) Regina M. DeAngelis approved SDG&E's re-filing of its Petition to Modify D.06-11-026 pursuant to Rule 16.4 of the Rules of Practice and Procedure of the California Public Utilities Commission.7 Pursuant to this approval, SDG&E filed the instant Petition to Modify D.06-11-026 to permit the extension of SDG&E's approved Balancing Account.
1 SONGS is currently licensed by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) to operate until 2022.
2 SDG&E has a 20 % ownership interest in SONGS, the city of Riverside owns a 1.79%, and SCE, the operator of SONGS, owns a 78.21% share.
3 See D.06-11-026, Attachment A, at 4, Item 3.
4 See D.06-11-026 at 12-13.
5 A.10-12-005.
6 See D.06-11-026 at Ordering Paragraph (OP) 4, "If SDG&E subsequently applies for continuation of the two way balancing account for SONGS operations and maintenance costs authorized herein, it shall include in its filing an exhibit that addresses whether 100% recovery provides it with any incentive to minimize such costs."
7 All statutory references are to the Commission's Rules of Practice and Procedure unless otherwise noted.
