Edison Expects 2016 Hearing on $7.57B California Reactor Claim

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Edison International expects a hearing to be held next year on its $7.57 billion damage claim against Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd. over the shutdown of a Southern California nuclear power plant.

A confidentiality order in the case, being arbitrated by the Paris-based International Chamber of Commerce, prevents Edison from further commenting on the process, Adam Umanoff, general counsel for the utility owner, told analysts in a call on Thursday.

Edison closed the San Onofre nuclear power plant in 2012 after discovering a leak and finding unusual wear on steam generator tubes and decided later to permanently shut both reactors at the station. Mitsubishi Heavy, which designed and supplied the steam generators for the complex, said earlier this week that Edison is claiming damages related to San Onofre.

The Tokyo-based company said in a filing that its liability is capped at around $137 million.

While analysts asked Edison executives during Thursday’s earnings call about the size of the claim and the timing of a resolution, Umanoff said he wasn’t in a position to comment “on substantive procedures.”