NewzVille International
Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) will restart a reactor at the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear power plant on Wednesday, following completed inspections. This marks TEPCO’s first reactor restart since the Fukushima disaster in 2011.
The utility said Reactor No. 6, a 1.36-gigawatt unit, will be brought online after 7 p.m. local time. Commercial operations are expected to resume by the end of February, boosting power supply in the Tokyo area.
The restart had been delayed from January 20 while TEPCO investigated an alarm malfunction. By early Wednesday, the equipment was reported to be functioning normally.
Kashiwazaki-Kariwa is the world’s largest nuclear power station, with a total capacity of 8.2 gigawatts when fully operational.
The restart represents a major milestone for Japan’s nuclear industry, as six reactors operated by other utilities, including Chubu Electric Power Co, are awaiting regulatory approval for potential restarts.
In the yaear 2011, a massive tsunami triggered a severe accident at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station, on the Pacific side of Japan. Afterward, all nuclear power stations in Japan were shut down, including Kashiwazaki-Kariwa, which was taken fully offline in March 2012.
