LOS ANGELES, July 18 (Kyodo) — Southern California Edison, an electric utility company that retired the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station last month, said Thursday it has served a notice of dispute to Mitsubishi Heavy Industry Ltd., holding the Japanese company accountable for manufacturing defective steam generators that led to the closing of the station.
The utility said in a press release MHI and Mitsubishi Nuclear Energy Systems "seriously breached" the contract failing to deliver what it promised.
The notice is a step toward filing a damages lawsuit.
Mitsubishi warranted the generators would operate reliably for 20 years but SCE was required to take the plant offline in January 2012 when one of the steam generators experienced a radioactive coolant leak after less than a year of operation, according to the utility.