TEPCO's business plan & safety

 January 16, 2014

Niigata governor criticizes TEPCO business plan

http://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/english/news/20140116_31.html 

The governor of the prefecture that hosts Tokyo Electric Power Company's Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear power plant has criticized the utility's turnaround plan for failing to put top priority on safety.

Niigata Governor Hirohiko Izumida made the criticism when the firm's president Naomi Hirose visited him on Thursday to explain the 10-year business plan.

Izumida said the company fails to fully look into the accident at its Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, and that the plan puts safety considerations on the back burner.

The central government approved the plan on the previous day. Its main pillar is restarting reactors at the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa plant in stages starting in July, to regain the company's profitability.

Hirose told the governor that the timing of the restart was set only tentatively to draft the earnings plan. He said it never represents a formal schedule.

Izumida said in response that it was regrettable that the utility made no consultation with the prefecture in deciding on a plan that affects the plant's safety.

The governor said Tokyo Electric faces financial difficulty because it caused the accident. He said it's essential to fully examine the disaster in efforts to build a system of corporate governance to prevent a recurrence. Izumida later told reporters that he will keep watch on how the company scrutinizes the Fukushima crisis.

Hirose said the firm will do what should be done, including a probe into Fukushima and formulation of a plan to prevent disasters and evacuate neighborhood residents during emergencies.

Jan. 16, 2014 - Updated 10:28 UTC