Commercial operation begins at TEPCO’s recently rebooted nuclear plant in Japan
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The Kashiwazaki Kariwa nuclear power plant, one of the world's largest nuclear facilities, has a maximum output of 8.21 million kilowatts.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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TOKYO - Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings (TEPCO) on April 16 began commercial operation at the No. 6 unit of the recently restarted nuclear power plant north-west of Tokyo, nearly two months later than initially scheduled.
Despite the delay, it marks the first time in 14 years that a TEPCO-operated nuclear reactor has entered commercial operation.
The utility company has been dealing with the aftermath of the crippling of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power complex by the 2011 major earthquake and tsunami.
The Nuclear Regulation Authority gave the green light for commercial operation to the No. 6 reactor of the seven-unit Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear complex in Niigata Prefecture after it cleared final safety checks.
TEPCO is facing the daunting task of decommissioning the Fukushima plant and paying massive compensation costs.
To reduce fuel costs due to its reliance on thermal power generation, TEPCO is prioritising bringing the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa plant, which has a maximum output of 8.21 million kilowatts, back online.
More than 15 years after the 2011 disaster that fuelled public safety concerns, most of the country’s nuclear reactors remain offline.
Nevertheless, the government now plans to restart nuclear power plants that pass stringent safety checks as part of its efforts to decarbonise and secure stable energy supplies.
Located on the Sea of Japan coast about 220km from Tokyo, the No. 6 unit was restarted in January, the first for TEPCO since the 2011 nuclear accident.
Commercial operation was initially scheduled to begin on Feb 26 but was postponed twice.
Shortly after the Jan 21 reboot, an alarm was triggered while control rods were being withdrawn, forcing the operator to halt the reactor. It went back online on Feb 9 and resumed power generation and transmission on a trial basis on Feb 16.
On March 12, an alarm indicating a possible electrical leak was triggered. TEPCO later confirmed that the alarm was set off by a damaged part linking a power generator and an earthing device, not by an electricity leak. Power generation and transmission resumed on March 22. KYODO NEWS
