Southern California Edison (SCE) today announced that it has formally
demanded that Mitsubishi Heavy Industries agree to undergo a
contractually mandated audit of Mitsubishi's design and manufacture of
Replacement Steam Generators (RSGs) for the San Onofre nuclear plant. On
Sept. 20, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) concluded that a flaw
in Mitsubishi's computer model led to the failure of the Replacement
Steam Generators. The NRC's investigation also uncovered internal
Mitsubishi consultant materials that expressed concerns about
Mitsubishi's computer model.
Edison's latest formal audit demand, set forth in a letter from SCE
president Ron Litzinger, can be found at http://www.songscommunity.com/docs/093013_letter.pdf.
The letter notes that SCE “officials and lawyers have made this [audit]
request on at least three prior occasions, but Mitsubishi has
steadfastly refused to date to submit to this audit.” Litzinger wrote
that he was appealing once again “because Mitsubishi's repeated refusal
to agree to such an audit is harmful to the public, regulators and our
entire industry, as it hinders efforts to understand and learn from the
RSGs’ failures.”
The SCE audit demand letter says that “[t]he contractual language
requiring Mitsubishi to undergo this audit could not be clearer . . .:
Section 1.9.6 of the contract gives [SCE] the right to ‘examine and
copy’ Mitsubishi's ‘books, accounts, relevant correspondence,
specifications, time cards, drawings, designs, and other documentation,
to the extent that these are related and relevant to the Work under the
Purchase Order[.]’”
In repeatedly refusing to submit to the audit, Mitsubishi has argued
that this contractual language applies only to financial information
necessary to support invoices. SCE’s demand letter characterizes
Mitsubishi's excuse as “disappointing” and says that it “will only
confirm the suspicion that Mitsubishi refuses to be transparent.”
Litzinger's letter concludes by saying that SCE “stands ready to begin
the audit as soon as Mitsubishi advises that it will abide by the
straightforward terms of the contract.”
In July, SCE filed a Notice of Dispute with Mitsubishi in an attempt to
recover all damages caused by Mitsubishi’s failed design and manufacture
of the San Onofre Replacement Steam Generators that led to the shutdown
of the nuclear plant. SCE has also announced that it continues to
reserve all of its rights as to any and all legal remedies available
against Mitsubishi. Finally, SCE has made public key documents regarding
the failure of the San Onofre Replacement Steam Generators in a Digital
Document Library located at www.SONGScommunity.com/library,
although the Digital Library remains incomplete because of Mitsubishi’s
continued refusal to permit other key documents to be made public.
About Southern California Edison
An Edison International (NYSE:EIX) company, Southern California Edison
is one of the nation’s largest electric utilities, serving a population
of nearly 14 million via 4.9 million customer accounts in a
50,000-square-mile service area within Central, Coastal and Southern
California.
Copyright Business Wire 2013