Voice of reason at the Union-Tribune

In an editorial this morning (July 20), the Union-Tribune says that the California Public Utilities Commission's (CPUC's) San Onofre decision, socking ratepayers with 70 percent of the costs of the nuclear plant's closure, should be scrapped. "It's quite possible a case could be made that ratepayers shouldn't pay a dime," says the U-T.

The editorial notes that the decision was made without a thorough, transparent investigation of the equipment failure. The U-T mentions the hush-hush Warsaw, Poland, huddle of former CPUC president Michael Peevey with an executive of Southern California Edison. The initial framework of the deal was sketched out by Peevey at that meeting, which Edison did not report until much later.

"The meeting is only one of dozens of outrageous examples of Peevey's machinations," says the U-T, noting that Peevey's replacement, Michael Picker, "has circled the wagons and obstructed journalists" trying to get at the truth.