(Reuters) - About 20,874 megawatts of nuclear power capacity is expected to be out of service in the United States in the upcoming autumn refueling season, according to Reuters data On Thursday.
That is roughly 4.9 percent, or 974 MW, above the 19,900 MW of nuclear capacity that was shut last year during mid-October, the height of the autumn refueling season, the data showed.
The data assumes units currently on extended outages -- like the San Onofre reactors in California and the Crystal River reactor in Florida -- will still be shut in mid-October.
Southern California Edison, the unit of California power company Edison International that operates San Onofre, said Unit 3 will not refuel as scheduled in October.
Due to the damage in Unit 3's steam generators, fuel will be removed from the reactor for the foreseeable future, SCE said in a filing.
"The current plan for Unit 3 is to de-fuel the reactor and place appropriate systems in a layup condition while analysis and testing continue given the uncertain timing of the likely repairs and restart," the company said.
A spokeswoman said a schedule to remove the fuel had not been determined. Nuclear fuel in Unit 2 was removed earlier this year. Unit 2 shut in January for refueling and inspections which revealed damage to its steam generators.
Neither San Onofre unit can return to service without the approval of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. SCE is planning to cut staff at the plant before the end of the year.
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