NRG Energy Inc. told California regulators to suspend for six months the proceeding on its disputed proposed natural gas-fired coastal power plant in Ventura County, about 60 miles northwest of Los Angeles. A California Energy Commission (CEC) siting committee recently indicated it planned to recommend that the project be scrapped in favor of alternatives deemed cleaner and technically feasible. NRG asked the CEC to suspend its application for the $300 million project to replace two of the three generation units at its Mandalay Generating Station in Oxnard, CA. A commission hearing officer sought more specifics from the power plant operator on the length of time for the suspension. NRG contends at least six months is needed to determine if there are feasible preferred clean alternatives to NRG’s plans to build the 262 MW Puente Power Project as a replacement for the Ormand Beach (1,516 MW) and Mandalay Bay (560 MW) gas-fired, seawater-cooled baseload generation plants, which are slated to close by the end of 2020.