Shikoku Electric Power halts nuclear reactor for regular checkup

MATSUYAMA (Kyodo) — Shikoku Electric Power Co. halted the No.1 reactor at its Ikata nuclear power plant in Ehime prefecture Sunday morning for a three-month scheduled checkup, making only 11 of Japan’s 54 commercial reactors are now in operation.

The suspension also means that only one of the utility’s three reactors serving the Shikoku Island in western Japan is now in operation.

The No. 1 reactor is expected to be reactivated on Nov. 16 for test operations and resume regular operation on Dec. 15 after conducting detailed equipment inspections, such as emergency diesel power generators and seawater pumps, in addition to ordinary checks, according to the utility.

But it remains uncertain when it can actually resume operation, given new safety assessment requirements introduced in the wake of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant crisis.

The No.3 reactor at the plant, halted in April also for regular checkup, remains suspended despite initial plans to restart its commercial operations in early August.

The scope of inspections was broadened after the magnitude 9.0 earthquake and tsunami crippled Tokyo Electric Power Co.’s Fukushima Daiichi power plant in March.

The utility’s power supply may run short if it is unable to restart the No. 1 and No. 3 reactors before the plant’s No.2 reactor starts its regular checks in January.

Kyodo, September 4, 2011
http://mdn.mainichi.jp/mdnnews/national/archive/news/2011/09/04/20110904p2g00m0dm065000c.html

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No. of Japan’s nuclear plants to be zero in future: Hachiro

TOKYO (Kyodo) — Industry minister Yoshio Hachiro said Tuesday that the number of Japan’s nuclear power plants would be “zero” in the future, based on Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda’s policy of not building new nuclear power plants and decommissioning aged ones.

“Considering the premier’s remarks at press conferences, it would be zero,” Hachiro told reporters in answer to the question whether the number of nuclear plants would reduce to none in the future.

Hachiro added that it would be “difficult” to proceed with plans to build new nuclear plants whose construction has yet to begin, such as Chugoku Electric Power Co.’s Kaminoseki plant in Yamaguchi Prefecture. “Public opinion is generally united in reducing (nuclear plants), instead of increasing them,” he said.

As for nuclear power plants whose construction has begun, such as Chugoku Electric’s Shimane plant’s No. 3 reactor in Shimane Prefecture and Electric Power Development Co.’s Oma nuclear power plant in Aomori Prefecture, Hachiro said he intends to make a decision based on discussions at the ministry’s advisory committee on energy and natural resources.

Japan currently plans to set up 12 reactors nationwide, excluding the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant’s No. 7 and 8 reactors, whose construction plan was canceled by the plant operator Tokyo Electric Power Co. in the wake of the nuclear crisis at the complex. But construction has not progressed much for most of the projects.

As for the resumption of reactors idled for regular checkups, Hachiro said that Noda has approved a plan to seek safety assessments from the International Atomic Energy Agency as part of the so-called nuclear “stress tests” introduced by the Japanese government given the Fukushima crisis.

Hachiro has said he aims to resume operations of the halted reactors nationwide soon once their safety is thoroughly checked and local municipalities hosting the plants approve their resumption.

Meanwhile, Hachiro admitted that Japan has received an offer from French nuclear power company Areva SA to take charge of spent nuclear fuel at the troubled Fukushima Daiichi plant, but he did not reveal Japan’s response to the offer.

Kyodo, September 6, 2011
http://mdn.mainichi.jp/mdnnews/national/archive/news/2011/09/06/20110906p2g00m0dm118000c.html

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Kyushu Electric repaying Genkai Fishery Co-op’s 700 million yen debt

Genkai nuclear plant operator Kyushu Electric Power Co. promised in 2009 to repay debts incurred by local fisheries cooperatives totaling 700 million yen, it was revealed on Sept. 7.

The Saga Prefecture Genkai Federation of Fisheries Cooperatives, an association of over 13 local fisheries unions based in the city of Karatsu, Saga Prefecture, obtained a promise from Kyushu Electric for the power company to repay 700 million yen in debt incurred by the federation and its members in 2009 — the same year the utility started its “pluthermal” (plutonium-thermal) reactor project at the local Genkai Nuclear Power Plant. The utility is thought to have agreed to pay the debt in return for the federation supporting the pluthermal project.

The 700 million yen was borrowed to cover expenses for the construction and renovation of various fisheries facilities, used to help promote the prefecture’s fishing industry, federation officials and other sources said. Kyushu Electric repaid about 460 million yen on the federation’s behalf over fiscal 2009 and 2010.

Kyushu Electric officials told the Mainichi the firm did not reveal the deal out of consideration for the federation, which they say has cooperated with the utility in its safe operations at Genkai Nuclear Power Plant and a thermal power plant in Karatsu for many years. Experts believe, however, that the case is yet another sign of collusive ties between nuclear plant operators and local industries.

Mainichi Shimbun , September 7, 2011
http://mdn.mainichi.jp/mdnnews/national/news/20110907p2a00m0na009000c.html

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Hakodate mayor seeks continued freeze on Aomori nuclear power plant

Hakodate Mayor Toshiki Kudo visited a nuclear power plant under construction in Oma, Aomori Prefecture, on Aug. 30 and sought an indefinite freeze on the project, just 23 kilometers away from the heart of the southwestern Hokkaido city.

“It is so close to Hakodate, and there is nothing to shield (nuclear radiation) if an accident happens,” Kudo said of the Oma Nuclear Power Plant with a planned output capacity of 1.38 million kilowatts.

J-Power, the nation’s leading electricity wholesaler, is building the nuclear power plant, which will use plutonium-uranium mixed oxide, or MOX, fuel.

The company had expected the plant to go on stream in November 2014. But the March 11 earthquake and tsunami and the resulting Fukushima nuclear crisis forced J-Power to suspend the project, which had been 37 percent complete.

Accompanied by Ko Notoya, speaker of the Hakodate City Assembly, Mayor Kudo was briefed by J-Power officials on a three-meter-tall levee and emergency generators. He later stood on an elevated spot and checked the location of buildings to house a nuclear reactor and turbines.

The mayor later told reporters, “They explained safety measures, but I was not convinced. It is also problematic that a site to eventually process nuclear waste has not been decided.”

Before his inspection tour, Kudo held talks with Oma Mayor Mitsuharu Kanazawa and Hideo Ishido, speaker of the Oma Town Assembly, at the town hall and delivered a written statement requesting an indefinite freeze on the nuclear power plant project that the Hakodate assembly adopted in July.

Ishido said after the talks, “We understand Hakodate’s concerns but most of the 2,000 workers left after construction halted. Our town assembly wants J-Power to resume construction (of the nuclear power plant).”

Mainichi Shimbun , August 31, 2011
http://mdn.mainichi.jp/mdnnews/national/archive/news/2011/08/31/20110831p2a00m0na016000c.html

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TEPCO eyes over 10 percent hike in electricity charges

TOKYO (Kyodo) — Tokyo Electric Power Co. is considering raising electricity charges by more than 10 percent as its shift from nuclear to thermal power generation after the Fukushima nuclear plant accident has led to surging fuel costs, sources close to the matter said Sunday.

TEPCO’s average monthly charge was 6,776 yen for a standard household in September. If it raises the charge by 15 percent, it will add another 1,000 yen to the monthly bill, they said.

Utilities have a system to automatically reflect changes in fuel costs to their monthly charges for power users. But TEPCO’s latest plan is a full-scale revision to its pricing system which requires government approval, the sources said.

TEPCO may file an application with the Economy, Trade and Industry Ministry as early as October so it can raise charges for power users next spring, they added. It will be the first full-scale revision request in 31 years.

The government is reluctant to see such a hike, however, as it will place an additional burden on corporations and households, already facing increasingly tough economic conditions since the March quake and tsunami disaster.

TEPCO will therefore step up its efforts to cut fixed and fuel costs to obtain government approval for the hike, the sources added.

An independent panel designated by the government is currently scrutinizing TEPCO’s business conditions and assessing assets and costs.

With the panel’s final report, scheduled to come out at the end of September, the utility is to compile a business plan in October, a requirement for it to receive a government subsidy to facilitate compensation payments to people and businesses affected by the nuclear crisis at its Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant.

The envisioned charge hike will be discussed along with the business plan, the sources said.

Kyodo, August 28, 2011
http://mdn.mainichi.jp/mdnnews/national/archive/news/2011/08/28/20110828p2a00m0na007000c.html

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