TEPCO revising plans to restart reactors in central Japan

Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings Inc. (TEPCO), whose nuclear reactors have remained offline since the 2011 Fukushima disaster, is revising its strategy for restarting reactors in central Japan. TEPCO aims especially to restart the No. 6 unit of its Kashiwakazi-Kariwa complex in Niigata Prefecture by the end of the summer. The company had previously planned to restart the No. 7 reactor, but the unit will have to be halted in October to implement anti-terrorism safety measures. These measures are mandatory under the stricter safety standards implemented by the Nuclear Regulation Authority after the Fukushima nuclear accident. Moreover, local authorities have yet to give their consent for the restart of the plant, with a series of public hearings on the issue scheduled during the summer.
TEPCO aims to complete anti-terrorism measures for the No. 6 and No. 7 units by 2029. No. 6 unit could continue to operate until that time, pending local approval. Both TEPCO and the government hope to have at least one unit in operation at the complex from summer to meet rising electricity demand.