TEPCO's plans for Kashiwazaki-Kariwa

November 19, 2013

TEPCO aims to restart Kashiwazaki plant next July

http://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/english/news/20131120_03.html

NHK has learned that Tokyo Electric Power Company aims to restart some of the reactors at its nuclear plant in central Japan next July.

TEPCO is drawing up a 10-year business plan. Restarting the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa plant in Niigata Prefecture will help to revive the firm's business after the nuclear accident at Fukushima Daiichi.

The No.6 and 7 reactors are to undergo safety checks by the government's Nuclear Regulation Authority as part of the procedures for restarting nuclear plants.

TEPCO has set the target date for next July because the checks will take at least 6 months and the utility needs to negotiate with the plant's host communities.

If all goes well with TEPCO's plan, the utility is estimated to post a pretax profit of more than 1 billion dollars in the business year that starts next April.

TEPCO says if the reactors cannot return online until January 2015, it will post a pretax loss of 130 million dollars. The loss is projected to grow to 800 million dollars if the restart is delayed until March 2015.

The business plan is to include further cost-cutting measures such as a voluntary retirement program for about 1,000 officials.

TEPCO aims to coordinate the details with its main lenders and win approval for the business plan from the industry minister next month.

Nov. 19, 2013 - Updated 19:09 UTC