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Power Supply At Issue With California Power Plants Offline

LOS ANGELES (AP) — The agency that operates California's wholesale power system is meeting Thursday to look at ways to manage electricity supplies when the hot weather hits.

The reliability of summertime power is at issue, with two nuclear reactors offline for an indefinite time at the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station near San Diego.

Investigators are trying to determine why alloy tubing in the nuclear plant's massive steam generators is wearing down at an alarming rate.

Unit 3 was shut down after a radioactive water leak in January, and Unit 2 is offline for maintenance.

There is no date to restart the plants.

The California Independent System Operator — which manages the power system — wants to avoid shortages or blackouts in case the plants don't restart by summer.

Copyright 2012 The Associated Press.

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