Visduh: Ratepayers in Orange and San Diego counties are justifiably peeved at Peevey, and people in San Bruno are even more outraged. Peevey obviously believes it is his mission to be sure California has the most lax utility regulation -- guaranteeing fat profits for the companies -- in the country. But the stated mission of the CPUC is to protect consumers from utilities -- not the other way around. Best, Don Bauder

Murphyjunk: Excellent. I wish I had thought of that. Best, Don Bauder

Anon92107: I haven't seen the LA Times story today, but I will definitely look it up. Right now, I am frying other fish. But thanks for telling me about it. Best, Don Bauder

http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-microgrids-20140618-story.html#page=1

+

Elon Musk's SolarCity wants to build a gigawatt solar panel factory http://shar.es/PMKTW

Founder: As has been discussed several times on this blog, individuals are going off the grid. The utilities are fighting the best energy solution -- rooftop solar -- because they don't make enough money on it. Best, Don Bauder

Don Bauder, There was an interesting ruling by the CPUC, one that I am surprised you haven't written about, by the way, that actually was in favor of consumers and AGAINST the utilities. Yes, you read that right, the CPUC actually ruled against the utilities. About a year ago, SDG&E, SCE, and PG&E began charging an $800 interconnection application fee, as well as extra fees, to the tune of between $1000 and $3,500 for battery-solar grid interconnections. The fees were for extensive systems reviews for "for safety reasons, as well as to make sure that batteries don’t store grid power, then feed it back under the guise of green, net-metered power." This action pretty much brought Solar City's residential battery test, referred to here by Founder/CaptD http://www.sandiegoreader.com/news/2014/may/05/ticker-group-battles-aims-utility-giants/#c171599 , to a halt. These fees were challenged before the commission and in April, the commission issued a proposed decision doing away with these fees and charges. Then, on May 15th, the commission unanimously approved the decision that exempts many solar storage projects from fees and interconnection studies and ordered that the utilities not only stop charging them, but also refund any fees already collected. I know, it's hard to believe that the commission ruled against the utilities, unanimously no less, but they did. And as I said, I am somewhat surprised that you haven't made mention of it and especially surprised that Founder/CaptD hasn't commented on it. Even though I believe that neither of you currently rooftop solar participants, you are both proponents of it.

danfogel: Yes, I must have missed that one. Had I heard about it, I would have posted it. Best, Don Bauder

and both of them need to be tested for dementia .

Murphyjunk: It sounds like you are saying that CaptD and I should be tested for dementia. You're not the first to say that about me. Best, Don Bauder

Don - I believe MurphyJunk was taking about Peevey & Gov. Brown...

As for me, I forgetaboutit

correct, Don is still on top of his game

Murphyjunk: It depends what game you are talking about. I play an electronic game called "Words with Friends" with a number of people. I was on a big winning streak and last night missed an easy play that would have extended it. I lost by 3 points and could have won by about 10. I have been moaning ever since. Best, Don Bauder

don't try to over think it. ( the loss and trying to find an answer)

Murphyjunk: I was frying other fish at the time. Age is also a factor. Best, Don Bauder

Founder: You do not have to take the test.. Best, Don Bauder

Thank you for your references and comments Founder.

It's time that we replaced UCAN and the U-T with the READER as our advocate and source of information.

We must wake up the public to the corruption and threats against our safety, economy and quality of life that are out of control and the READER has proven to be the best way to do that.

Anon92107: The U-T now gives space to San Diego Gas & Electric to trumpet its own views in so-called news stories. I don't know whether the utility pays for that space or not. Best, Don Bauder

Founder: Financially ailing Utility Consumers' Action Network (UCAN) clearly appears to be going back to its philosophy under former head Michael Shames: play ball with the CPUC and get fat intervenor fees. UCAN's head, Don Kelly, wrote an op-ed for the Union-Tribune favoring the so-called settlement that would force ratepayers to cough up $3.3 billion to pay for mistakes of utility management. Best, Don Bauder

Founder: I hope that meeting was videotaped and will go on the web. I hope the incident with Aguirre was taped, too. Best, Don Bauder

Anon92107: I agree with you. The Reader is the last and best source of reliable information for San Diegans. Best, Don Bauder

Yes, I agree 100%, it is also a shame that more of those living in San Diego are not interested enough to even become informed.

The modern version of "For want of a nail" is the Presidential election that was decided by the "hanging chad"...

Founder, one of the paramount facts of life that keeps far too many people confused is our institutions (political, corporate, religious, universities) protect their own survival as a much higher priority than the survival of the human race. Sophists confused the people of Greece into believing oligarchs so they could control the first democracies and nothing has changed, except we don't have to drink hemlock anymore if we keep asking embarrassing questions, we are simply marginalized so we can't inform anybody.

Anon92107: True -- much as the oligarchs would like us to drink hemlock. Best, Don Bauder

Founder: And as a result of that abominable "hanging chad" Supreme Court decision, the United States wasted trillions of dollars -- not to mention human lives -- on wars that are still draining us. Best, Don Bauder

Mariana Castro: In a way, in trying to give relief to utility ratepayers, Aguirre IS taking on the whole state of California. I applaud that. You don't. We can agree to disagree. Best, Don Bauder

Yes, the American Dream is now but a fond memory to all those of US that lived through the 50's and 60's as the USA we were forced to forget about the Biblical Golden Rule and adopt the New Age Golden Rule: Those with the Gold Make The Rules..

Founder: The price of gold is making a modest comeback after having been creamed. Best, Don Bauder

Founder: That article was prescient. Best, Don Bauder

Examples Cont.

• Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd., manufacturer of these RSGs stated in December 2006, “There is no standard design for a replacement SG because the specifications and plant requirements vary among customers. By applying the following latest advanced technologies to all SGs, improvements were made which cope with all past problems such as tube corrosion, vibration and wear, fatigue, and water hammer, and products which satisfy customers' advanced demands for heat transfer capability and moisture content are being supplied. (1) Tube material of high nickel alloy TT690 with excellent corrosion resistance, (2) Outstanding tube support plate design, tube expansion technology in tube sheets, (3) Tube support structure at U-bends with high support function. The tube support structure at a U-bend is a unique design with reduced flow resistance increasing the number of support points. Together with excellent assembly technology during manufacturing, high reliability against vibration and wear of heat transfer tubes is achieved, and (4) MHI has developed a small, high-performance moisture separator by optimizing the geometry of the parts based on extensive field pressure tests. As a result, replacement SGs corresponding to power up-rating and/or advanced moisture requirements can be designed. Source: Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd., Technical Review Vol. 43 No. 4 (Dec. 2006). • Ei Kadokami, the deputy manager of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries in an article in the March-April 2009 Edition of the Nuclear Plant Journal explained some of the changes and expectations in MHI steam generators, “Tube P/D (pitch/outer diameter) is narrower than others so that the tube bundle and the Steam Generator itself are smaller, which is the first feature. The second feature MHI would like to emphasize is that MHI has not experienced any significant degradation in recent design.  Alloy 690 is used for almost all steam generators and has high resistance against corrosion, but some steam generators fabricated by other manufacturers have wear caused by tube vibration in the U bend region. No tube wear has been experienced in recent MHI steam generators because not only AVB and TSP are designed to have enough margin against fretting wear but also the manufacturing procedure is appropriate to control gaps between the tube and AVB. Nuclear Plant Journal, Plant Maintenance & Plant Life Extension Issue, March-April 2009 volume 27 No. 2, ISSN: 0892-2055”

Founder: Sounds like Mitsubishi was convinced it had all the answers. Best, Don Bauder

Yet another Example;

•   Boguslaw J. Olech (Retired from Southern California Edison) and Tomoyuki Inoue (Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd.) in an International Engineer Magazine said, “The SONGS is majority owned and operated by Southern California Edison Company (Edison). The SONGS consists of twin plants (Units 2 and 3) rated at 3358 MWt (~1180 MWe) each. SONGS Unit 2 began commercial operation in 1983 and Unit 3 in 1984. The plants were originally equipped with CE Model 3340 recirculating steam generators. The Original Steam Generators (OSGs) employed heat transfer tubing made of Alloy 600 Mill Annealed (MA) and the carbon steel egg-crate type tube supports. The OSGs were designed for a 40-year service life. The main function of steam generators in PWR power plants is to transfer heat from the reactor core and in doing so produce steam. The steam, in turn, drives the main turbine/electric generator to produce electricity. Within the steam generator pressure vessel, a bundle of U-tubes, typically made of nickel-based alloy, provides surface area required for heat transfer from the primary to secondary coolant. The primary coolant flows through the tubes and causes the secondary coolant, which is in contact with the exterior surface of the tubes to boil, generating wet saturated steam. After passing through the moisture separators and steam dryers, essentially dry, saturated steam leaves the steam generator on its way to the high-pressure turbine. Over the years of operation of the PWR plants, it became evident that the steam generator tubes, made predominantly of Alloy 600, were susceptible to primary water stress corrosion cracking (PWSSC). This corrosion mechanism was resulting in tube degradation necessitating plugging large numbers of tubes after each inspection of the tubing. In addition, the SONGS OSG design has shown to be susceptible to tube through-wall wear and severe corrosion of the tube supports. It became evident that the OSG would have to be replaced much sooner than stipulated by their design service life. Continuing to operate with highly degraded steam generators can involve substantial economic risks from forced outages, extended refueling outages, as well as the direct costs of inspections and repairs. To address these risks, and consistent with industry experience, Edison has set a 21.4% plugging level as the technical end-of-life of the SONGS OSGs.

• Boguslaw J. Olech CONTINUED The worst case forecast indicated that this plugging level could be reached by approximately 2012. All the considerations mentioned above prompted Edison to make a conservative decision to replace the SONGS OSGs in both Units prior to that date. The contract for design, fabrication and delivery of the RSGs was awarded to Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd. (MHI). As specified, the RSGs were supposed to be a replacement in-kind for the OSGs in terms of form, fit and function. At the same time, however, the RSG specification included many new requirements derived from both industry and SONGS operating experience, and the requirement to use the best and most suitable materials of construction. These requirements were aimed at improving the RSG longevity, reliability, performance and maintainability. Also, the specification called for very tight fabrication tolerances of the components and sub-assemblies, especially the tubesheet and the tube U-bend support structure. In addition, SONGS steam generators are one of the largest in the industry, which called for innovative design solutions and improved fabrication processes when working on the RSGs. Conceivably, the MHI and Edison project teams faced many tough challenges throughout the entire project in the design, manufacturing and QC areas, when striving to meet the specification requirements. Both teams jointly tackled all these challenges in an effective and timely manner. At the end, MHI delivered the RSGs, which incorporated all the latest improvements found throughout the industry, as well as innovative solutions specific to the SONGS RSGs. In Unit 2, the RSGs were installed and tested in 2009/10 and in Unit 3 in 2010/11. The RSG post-installation test results met or exceeded the test acceptance criteria for all specified test parameters, thus properly rewarding the effort put into their fabrication.”

Founder: Hmm. So those tubes were vulnerable. Best, Don Bauder

Founder: Agreed. There can't be a vote on the San Onofre bailout until we know who was at fault. There is already plenty of evidence that Edison management was definitely at fault. Best, Don Bauder

Founder: Absolutely. An exhaustive study must be made before the blame can be assigned. But clearly, the CPUC wants to push through this settlement agreement that will force ratepayers to pick up $3.3 billion of the tab. Best, Don Bauder

Founder, great proof of gross criminal negligence by SCE executives who, along with the CPUC, totally ignored public safety so they could maximize their profits, and they are still a threat to everyone in Southern California.

Anon92107

The two most important questions are:

1. Why is nobody doing anything about it?

2. Why is Main Stream Media (MSM) not even discussing it?

Hint: The answer to both questions is the same:

Corruption at the highest levels is no longer NEWS worthy in todays Society because those that own MSM are part of the problem and do not want to be implicated.

Founder, I agree completely, and that's another reason why I want the READER to find a way to replace the U-T. Manchester and his board of sycophants are a threat to Democracy and our way of life in San Diego.

They have enabled SCE, PG&E and the CPUC to murder customers with gas pipelines and threaten us with nuclear contamination at San Onofre.

Tragically, Gov. Brown and his legislature are watching and doing nothing to protect Californians because of the power of money that corrupts them also.

Anon92107: The U-T wanted to buy the Reader a bit ago but was turned down. I doubt if the Reader has shown interest in purchasing the U-T. Best, Don Bauder

Founder: Mainstream media are getting lots of advertising from the utilities. Enough said. Best, Don Bauder

Anon92107: Some think a case can be made that Edison executives were criminally negligent. Best, Don Bauder

Founder: Those statements smack of smoking guns. Best, Don Bauder

Founder: Hmm again. Designed for 40 years, but they expected 60 years. Best, Don Bauder

AGUIRRE WILL FILE LIBEL CHARGES OVER CPUC RESPONSE. San Diego Attorney Mike Aguirre has added to his charges against the CPUC, and plans to sue for libel. As related above, at a public CPUC hearing in Costa Mesa, two state police officers demanded that Aguirre turn over his work product. He did not do so and filed a complaint with the California Victim Compensation and Government Claims Board.

In reporting the incident, the Union-Tribiune quoted a CPUC spokesperson saying Aguirre's "conduct was unprofessional and threatening toward our staff members who were simply trying to do their job and ensure that the rules for the meeting set in advance by the administrative law judge were followed."

Aguirre says that is untrue. He filed a second Victims Compensation complaint, saying the CPUC spokesperson "libeled me in ensuing press coverage." He plans to take the libel case to court. Best, Don Bauder

Don - When you get to see the video of the Costa Mesa CPUC Meeting and hear what Michael Aguirre said in his comments I bet you, like many in the audience, will also applaud his efforts in demanding justice for all ratepayers.

Founder: The videotape should make the case one way or another. Best, Don Bauder

Founder: Yes, both Edison and Mitsubishi said the new steam generators would be better and last longer than the previous ones -- indeed would last 40 to 60 years. They failed shortly. Best, Don Bauder