Nuclear

After a dizzying week of public and private meetings on San Antonio's nuclear future, Mayor Julián Castro and CPS Energy's management appear to have come to a meeting of the minds.

With a decision looming over whether to spend $400 million more to keep the nuclear plans on track, declining electric sales seem to have helped tilt the debate toward Castro's desire to cut the city's share of the new reactors in half.

The city-owned utility now is leaning toward selling about half of its share of the project and target an ownership in the 20 percent to 25 percent range. Its board is expected to take up the idea Oct. 13.

Castro, who also sits on CPS Energy's board, has been pushing for the move for months. He's concerned about the economic risk associated with owning so much of a large project.

CPS Energy interim General Manager Steve Bartley said last week the effect the recession has had on the utility's finances led him to the same conclusion. CPS Energy management has said it will keep rate increases to about 5 percent every other year for the next decade while pursing nuclear and renewable energy and environmental projects that will cost billions of dollars.

Given the economy's impact on the utility's balance sheet, Bartley said he's beginning to worry about keeping rate increases at that level if the utility were to stick with the larger share of the nuclear project.

"We've been bending over backwards to kind of make this 5 percent rate thing work," he said. "We're on the verge of teetering a little bit. ... We want to do everything we can to try to pull this thing off within that 5 percent rate plan."

More at: 　　　　　　http://www.mysanantonio.com/livinggreensa/63189232.html