Tepco reactors clear safety review after Fukushima

• 7 years ago (2017-10-04)
• David Flin

Asia 892 Nuclear 659

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Two reactors at Kashiwazaki-Kariwa power station in Niigata Prefecture run by Tepco have cleared the safety standards set by the Japanese Government, becoming the first of the utilities idled units to pass tightened screening.

The Nuclear Regulation Authority endorsed a draft document that serves as certification that Tepco’s No 6 and 7 reactors at Kashiwazaki-Kariwa power stations have met the new, stricter safety standards introduced after the Fukushima disaster.

Formal approval of the restart is expected once the Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry confirms that Tepco is fit to be an operator.

Despite this approval by the nuclear regulator, the actual restart of the two reactors is still a few years away. Ryuichi Yoneyama, Governor of Niigata Prefecture, said that it would be around “three to four years” for Tepco to win local consent for the resumption of operation.

The two reactors are the newest among the seven units at the site. The complex, when fully operational, has a combined output capacity of 8.2 GW. Tepco, facing huge compensation payments and other costs stemming from the Fukushima incident, is keen to resume operation of its idled reactors so that it can reduce spending on fossil fuel imports.