2. Requests
2.1. SCE and SDG&E
In a Joint Application filed on April 3, 2009, (A.) 09-04-009,1 SCE and SDG&E request that the Commission:
(1) find the $207.2 million (100% share, 2008$) cost of San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station (SONGS) Unit 1 decommissioning work completed between July 1, 2005 and December 31, 2008 is reasonable;
(2) find the updated $184.4 million (100% share, 2008$) SONGS Unit 1 decommissioning cost estimate for the Remaining Work is reasonable; and
(3) find the updated $3,658.8 million (100% share, 2008$) SONGS Units 2 & 3 decommissioning cost estimate is reasonable.
In addition, SCE requests the Commission:
(1) find the updated $708.7 million (SCE's share, 2007$) Palo Verde (PV) decommissioning cost estimate is reasonable; and
(2) authorize a revenue requirement of $66.4 million for contributions to its Nuclear Decommissioning Trust Funds for SONGS Units 2 & 3 and for Palo Verde Nuclear Generating Station Units 1, 2, & 3 through the Nuclear Decommissioning Cost Charge.
In addition to the foregoing, SDG&E requests the Commission:
(1) Find the updated estimate of SDG&E's ratable share of the decommissioning costs for SONGS Units 2 & 3 of $731.8 million is reasonable;
(2) Authorize a revenue requirement for SDG&E's annual contribution to its Nuclear Decommissioning Trust Fund for SONGS Units 2 & 3 in the amount of $15.284 million, effective May 1, 2010. (SDG&E is not seeking to increase rates in this proceeding.) SDG&E proposes and requests approval to (a) omit any rate impacts from the increase in the nuclear decommissioning revenue requirement in 2010 and utilize the overcollection in its Nuclear Decommissioning Adjustment Mechanism (NDAM) balancing account, forecasted to be $2.336 million for the period ending December 31, 2009, to offset the revenue requirement increase in 2010 partially; and (b) address the resulting net balance in the NDAM balancing account as part of SDG&E's annual electric regulatory account update advice filing filed in October of each year for rate effective January 1 of the following year.2 In addition, SDG&E intends to utilize overcollections in other balancing accounts (e.g., the Transition Cost Balancing Account) or offset any nuclear-decommissioning rate change with revenues from other regulatory accounts;
(3) Find that SDG&E may reasonably rely upon SCE, as the majority owner of and exclusive operating and decommissioning agent for SONGS Units 1, 2, and 3, to make those reasonable efforts to retain and utilize sufficient qualified and experienced personnel to pursue any decommissioning-related activities for the nuclear generation facilities under their control effectively, safely, and efficiently, as required by the Commission in Decision (D.) 07-01-003, subject to the proviso that SDG&E shall review and provide such advice and consent to SCE as may be necessary and appropriate to the interests of SDG&E as a minority owner and/or on behalf of the interests of SDG&E's retail electric customers;
(4) Find that SDG&E may reasonably rely upon SCE, as the majority owner of and exclusive operating and decommissioning agent for SONGS Units 1, 2, and 3, to make those reasonable efforts to forecast the costs of low-level radioactive waste storage conservatively, as required by the Commission in D.07-01-003, subject to the proviso that SDG&E shall review and provide such advice and consent to SCE as may be necessary and appropriate to the interests of SDG&E as a minority owner and/or on behalf of the interests of SDG&E's retail electric customers;
(5) Find that SDG&E may reasonably rely upon SCE, as the majority owner of and exclusive operating and decommissioning agent for SONGS Units 1, 2, and 3, to make all reasonable efforts to establish an appropriate contingency factor for inclusion in the decommissioning revenue requirements, as required by the Commission in D.07-01-003, subject to the proviso that SDG&E shall review and provide such advice and consent to SCE as may be necessary and appropriate to the interests of SDG&E as a minority owner and/or on behalf of the interests of SDG&E's retail electric customers; and
(6) Find that the transfer of funds from the non-qualified trust fund for the decommissioning of SONGS Unit 1 to the qualified trust funds for the decommissioning of SONGS Units 2 & 3 should not be required at the present time due to:
(a) the uncertainties associated with determining the actual and final reasonable costs for the decommissioning activities related to SONGS Unit 1;
(b) the uncertainties associated with determining whether the actual return on investments will be sufficient to increase total fund assets to an amount no less than the actual and final reasonable costs for the decommissioning activities related to SONGS Unit 1; and
(c) the absence of any exigencies or circumstances that would either require the transfer of funds from the non-qualified and/or qualified trust funds for the decommissioning of SONGS Unit 1 to the qualified trust funds for the decommissioning of SONGS Units 2 & 3 at this time or that would preclude such a transfer at a more appropriate and later date when the aforementioned uncertainties would be more largely and likely resolved.
2.2. PG&E
In a separate application, A.09-04-007, Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) requests the Commission to authorize the collection, through Commission-jurisdictional electric rates, of the following amounts in 2010 through 2012 for decommissioning of Diablo Canyon and Humboldt Unit 3:
(1) $23.329 million for the Diablo Canyon (DC) Nuclear Decommissioning Trusts for Units 1 and 2, respectively (the 2009 revenue requirement is $1.297 million); and
(2) $16.982 million for the Humboldt Unit 3 Nuclear Decommissioning Trust (the 2009 revenue requirement is $10.995 million);
Additionally, PG&E requests the Commission to:
(3) authorize revenue requirements to cover the costs of operating and maintaining (O&M) the Humboldt Unit 3 site in a safe condition (SAFSTOR). Specifically, PG&E is requesting SAFSTOR revenue requirement of $9.218 million in 2009, a decrease from the authorized amounts of $13.405 million for 2009. PG&E is also requesting attrition for SAFSTOR expenses in 2011 and 2012; and
(4) find that PG&E's activities with respect to licensing, design, fabrication, and construction of the Independent Spent Fuel Storage Installation (ISFSI) and associated activities were reasonable and prudent.
1 On May 7, 2009, Southern California Edison Company (SCE) and San Diego Gas & Electric Company (SDG&E) filed an amendment to their joint application which consists of three corrections relating to SCE's requests in the application.
2 If the Commission authorizes an increase of annual contributions to SDG&E's nuclear decommissioning trusts but does not permit deferral of rate changes to beyond 2010, SDG&E seeks an allowance for franchise fees and uncollectibles to be added to the annual revenue requirement approved for and billed in 2010.
