Kansai Electric gears up for reactor restart

摘要

Japanese utility Kansai Electric Power is gearing up to restore nuclear generation output, with the first two of its reactors having been granted safety clearance to restart. But the company’s LNG demand this year could still be maintained at recent high levels, given its rather pessimistic outlook that sees a possible reactor restart only at the end of this year. The country’s nuclear regulatory authority the NRA on 17 December drafted a safety approval for Kansai Electric’s 870MW No 3 and 870MW No 4 reactors at the Takahama nuclear power plant in Fukui prefecture. The draft endorsements are expected to be finalised this month following a 30-day public consultation process. The safety clearance for the Takahama reactors is only the second — after Kyushu Electric Power’s two Sendai reactors — that the NRA has granted since Japan introduced tougher safety procedures in July 2013 (AGL, December, p3).