TEPCO mulls scrapping some older reactors at Niigata Pref. nuclear plant
Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings Inc. is considering decommissioning some older reactors at its nuclear power plant in Niigata Prefecture, which currently has all seven of its reactors offline, sources familiar with the matter said Wednesday, Kyodo reports.
The utility intends to convey the plan to the prefecture's assembly in the coming days, with the understanding it will be able to restart the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa plant's No. 6 and No. 7 reactors, which have passed safety checks by the Nuclear Regulation Authority.
A formal decision would mark the first reactor decommissioning at the plant on the Sea of Japan coast north of Tokyo.
President Tomoaki Kobayakawa is expected to attend an assembly meeting on Oct. 16 and tell its members his company's plan to consider the move, the sources said, adding that it currently centers on two of the oldest reactors, the No. 1 and No. 2 units.
Tokyo Electric, also known as TEPCO, is also planning to propose establishing a fund aimed at boosting the region's economy, with the utility providing initial funding. The fund could be as large as 100 billion yen ($654 million).
Powered by a total of seven reactors, the seaside plant has the capacity to generate 8.21 million kilowatts of electricity, among the world's largest levels of output.
Unit 1, the oldest at the site, began operating in 1985. Unit 2 started operating in 1990, but has been offline since 2007.
Since a massive earthquake hit Japan's northeast in March 2011 and triggered multiple reactor meltdowns at Tokyo Electric's Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, public concerns have heightened over the concentration of reactors at the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa plant.
The mayor of Kashiwazaki, the city that hosts the plant with the neighboring village of Kariwa, is calling for Tokyo Electric to come up with a plan to decommission at least one reactor among the Nos. 1 to 5 units there in exchange for allowing the utility to restart a reactor.
The utility previously said it would present its plan as soon as possible once it could restart the No. 6 reactor, on which it placed priority.
Tokyo Electric, which serves Tokyo and the surrounding region, has already decided to scrap all six reactors at the disaster-struck Fukushima Daiichi plant as well as all four at the Fukushima Daini complex nearby. It says nothing has been decided about decommissioning at the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa plant.
Recall that TEPCO progressing in melted fuel extraction from Fukushima nuclear reactor.
