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Active faults a heavy blow to nuclear operators

 March 26, 2015

Nuclear watchdog's decision on active faults a serious blow to reactor operators

 

http://mainichi.jp/english/english/newsselect/news/20150326p2a00m0na009000c.html

 

The Nuclear Regulation Authority (NRA) decision to accept reports stating that active faults run directly beneath two reactors in Fukui and Aomori prefectures may prove a heavy blow to nuclear plant operators.

Japan Atomic Power Co., which operates the Tsuruga nuclear station in Fukui Prefecture, will be more seriously affected by the NRA move, as the company relies solely on its nuclear plant business. The No. 2 reactor at the Tsuruga station will likely have to be scrapped after an NRA expert committee reported that it stands right above an active fault. This reactor is 28 years old and is the newest operated by the utility.

The active fault is likely to be confirmed again during an upcoming safety inspection of the area required to restart the reactor. Japan Atomic Power decided this month to scrap the No. 1 reactor at the Tsuruga plant. It manages one more nuclear station in Ibaraki Prefecture, but restarting the Tokai No. 2 plant there faces strong local opposition.

Japan Atomic Power has continued to make profits while all its reactors remain off-line as the five utilities with capital investments in the firm are required to pay basic fees regardless of whether any electricity is flowing from the plants. It made a 1.6 billion yen net profit for the year ending March 2014.

It's not clear, however, that this business model can continue. Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO), Japan Atomic Power's largest shareholder, is seeing persistent internal opposition to continuing basic fee payments while the plant operator's reactor restart plans remain up in the air. A TEPCO representative says the utility would not be able to give an acceptable explanation to consumers and shareholders if it continued paying large sums for nothing.

Japan Atomic Power announced earlier this month that it will convert into a holding company by the end of fiscal 2017 and establish affiliate firms that focus on nuclear reactor decommissioning work and overseas operations. It looks to secure future profit by helping other utilities decommission reactors, including TEPCO's Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant, and introducing nuclear power abroad. As the plan to restart its own reactors has become unrealistic, reshaping its business structure is an urgent issue.

Meanwhile, Tohoku Electric Power Co., operator of Higashidori nuclear plant in Aomori Prefecture, is also facing a tough situation. While the utility plans to counter that the fault under the No. 1 reactor at the Higashidori plant is not active in a planned safety screening, a prolonged process is unavoidable.

The utility calculates that the restart of the nuclear reactor can bring down the cost of fuel by 5 billion yen a month, but there is no prospect for actually reaching that figure. It is also possible that the utility will be forced to undertake additional earthquake resistance construction if the NRA concludes that the fault under the Higashidori reactor is indeed active, saddling the company with ballooning operational costs.

March 26, 2015(Mainichi Japan)

 

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