Washington (Platts)--11Jul2007

A California state lawmaker and a group of developers hoping to build a
nuclear plant near Fresno, California, want to ask the state's voters to lift
a 31-year-old ban on new nuclear plants.

     In a statement late Tuesday, Assemblyman Chuck DeVore and the Fresno
Nuclear Energy Group said they launched an effort to collect the 500,000
signatures need to quality the referendum for the state July 2008 ballot.

     DeVore and the Fresno group said they submitted the measure Tuesday to
the state attorney general for ballot title and summary.

     "California is the most energy efficient state in the US, but we run the
very real risk of running short on power as we try to meet ambitious
greenhouse gas reduction mandates," DeVore said in a statement. "Modern
nuclear power will allow us to add jobs while improving the environment--there
are really no other options capable of generating the large amounts of power
we need."

     DeVore in February introduced a bill in the legislature that would repeal
the state's 1976 ban on new nuclear plants. DeVore said then that federal
efforts to dispose of high level nuclear waste are "well underway" and a
disposal site will be available by the time a new plant begins operating. The
state's ban on new nuclear plants was in large part the result of concerns
over the lack of a permanent waste storage solution.

     The state's two largest utilities are also considering the nuclear
option. Southern California Edison President John Fielder earlier this year
said his company is tracking developments in the nuclear industry and may
consider building a plant in the next 10 to 20 years. And Pacific Gas &
Electric CEO Peter Darbee also said his company would welcome a partner to
invest in nuclear generation outside of California.