Fukui Governor: Won’t Approve Restart Of Kansai Electric Reactors

TOKYO (Dow Jones)—The governor of Fukui Prefecture said Monday he won’t approve the restart of offline nuclear reactors in the prefecture unless the central government clarifies the difference in safety status between the recently closed Hamaoka nuclear power plant and others in the country.

“We are not anti-nuke. We want the government to make clear action plans and a timetable and show them to people helping Japan’s power supply,” Governor Issei Nishikawa said, referring to the resumption of reactors in Fukui Prefecture that have been offline for maintenance.

In early May, Prime Minister Naoto Kan demanded that Chubu Electric Power Co. (9502) suspend all operations at its Hamaoka nuclear power plant in Shizuoka Prefecture in central Japan until the plant’s defenses against earthquake and tsunami could be enhanced. Hamaoka plant has met all regulations required by the government. The move generated fresh concerns about safety among communities near other plants.

Fukui Prefecture, on the Japan Sea coast in western Japan, has 13 reactors, six of which are idle either for planned or unplanned maintenance. Two more are scheduled to go offline for checkups this summer.

Japan’s second largest power utility by capacity, Kansai Electric Power Co. (9503), owns and operates 11 of the 13 reactors. The utility, which supplies electricity to Osaka, Japan’s third-largest city, said Friday it would ask its customers to cut power consumption by 15% from a year earlier from July 1 to late September to avoid possible power outages stemming from its reduced generating capacity.

Dow Jones, June 13, 2011
http://e.nikkei.com/e/fr/tnks/Nni20110613D13JF698.htm

---

Japan’s Nuclear Plant Operating Rate Hits 32-Year Low

Tokyo, June 13 (Jiji Press)—The operating rate of nuclear power facilities in Japan hit a 32-year low in May following the accident at the Fukushima No. 1 plant, industry data showed Monday.

The operating rate fell 21.2 percentage points from a year before to 40.9 pct, the lowest since 34.2 pct marked in May 1979, immediately after the Three Mile Island accident in the United States, the Federation of Electric Power Companies of Japan said.

Jiji Press, June 13, 2011
http://jen.jiji.com/jc/eng?g=ind&k=2011061300341

---

 METI tried to gain influence over Fukushima panel

A push by bureaucrats associated with the nuclear industry to increase their influence over the government-appointed panel investigating the accident at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant was rebuffed by Prime Minister Naoto Kan.

The Kan Cabinet decided May 24 to establish the panel to investigate the nuclear disaster and placed it under the Cabinet Secretariat. That decision limited the influence of the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI), which oversees nuclear policy and Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO), the operator of the Fukushima No. 1 plant.

But, on June 6, the nuclear establishment pushed back. The National Policy Unit, which is part of the Cabinet Secretariat but is made up of bureaucrats from the various central government ministries, produced a document titled “Regarding a revolutionary energy and environment strategy.”

The unit, which is heavily influenced by METI officials when considering matters related to energy policy, proposed placing the accident panel as well as the Japan Atomic Energy Commission under the guidance of an energy and environment committee to be established under the Council on the Realization of the New Growth Strategy.

The National Policy Unit would serve as the secretariat for the committee and Banri Kaieda, the METI minister, would be the committee’s deputy chairman. Masayuki Naoshima, a former METI minister, and Yosuke Kondo, a former vice minister at METI, would sit on it and METI officials would be dispatched to work for its secretariat.

Kan discussed the proposal with Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano and others on June 7 and agreed to reject the proposal.

In a June 7 document distributed by the Council on the Realization of the New Growth Strategy, all references to the accident panel were deleted and the names of Naoshima and Kondo were removed from the energy and environment committee that was established that day.

The document also stated that a new committee would be established to look into whether the Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency should be separated from METI.

The document said discussions within the new committee looking into separating NISA should take into consideration the results of an assessment of the assets and financial condition of TEPCO to be conducted by a separate committee looking into TEPCO’s management and financial condition.

The decision by Kan to reject the National Policy Unit proposal may only be a temporary setback for METI.

In the rush to establish the panel, its legal status was left ambiguous. No legislation passed to establish it as an independent body.

That leaves open the possibility of METI officials renewing their push for control of the panel. With Kan expected to step down in the near future, the energy mandarins may still have their way.

BY SHINJI MURAMATSU, Asahi Shimbun Staff Writer, June 12, 2011
http://www.asahi.com/english/TKY201106110149.html

---

 Kaieda calls for restarting nuke reactors

Industry minister Banri Kaieda said Friday that the overall economy will
be “largely affected” if utilities, especially in western Japan, cannot
resume operations of their nuclear reactors, which are currently
suspended for regular checkups amid public concerns about their safety.

Kaieda said he made the remarks during an informal ministerial session
following the day’s Cabinet meeting, given that more companies are
increasing production in western Japan in the wake of the March 11
earthquake and nuclear crisis at the Fukushima No. 1 power plant, which
has raised fears of power shortages in eastern and northeastern Japan.

"I told other ministers that a decline in the western regional economy
due to power supply shortages there would have a large impact on quake
restoration and Japan’s economy as a whole," Kaieda told reporters.

Among Japan’s 54 commercial nuclear reactors, more than 30 are not in
operation because of regular checkups or have been suspended after the
March disaster struck, according to the Ministry of Economy, Trade and
Industry.

The government confirmed in May that utilities nationwide have taken
appropriate emergency measures as ordered to ensure the safety of their
nuclear plants in case they are hit by large tsunami.

It also announced Tuesday additional measures the utilities should take
to counter or prevent severe accidents that could inflict serious damage
to reactor cores, including steps to prevent hydrogen explosions from
occurring in reactor buildings. But the apparent concerns of the local
people hosting nuclear plants are whether they are actually safe.

Kyodo, June 11, 2011
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nb20110611a3.html

---

Softbank, 19 Prefectures to Set Up Panel to Promote Renewable Energy

Tokyo, May 25 (Jiji Press)—Softbank Corp. <9984> said Wednesday it will set up a council to promote power generation using solar and other renewable energy sources in early July together with 19 prefectural governments in Japan.

The Japanese telecommunication and Internet group also envisions setting up solar panels on unused rice paddies in the prefectures.

The natural energy council is expected to present specific policy proposals, including the deregulation of farmland use for the solar panel initiative, to the central government and power companies.

The participating prefectures are Hokkaido, Akita, Saitama, Kanagawa, Fukui, Yamanashi, Nagano, Shizuoka, Aichi, Mie, Okayama, Hiroshima, Kagawa, Kochi, Saga, Nagasaki, Kumamoto, Oita and Miyazaki.

The move comes after Softbank President Masayoshi Son asked for the cooperation of local governments for the promotion of natural energy, following the March 11 earthquake and tsunami that caused the nuclear crisis in Fukushima Prefecture and electricity shortages.

Jiji Press, May 25, 2011
http://jen.jiji.com/jc/eng?g=eco&k=2011052501028

---