TOKYO: Japan’s nuclear power regulator on Wednesday lifted the operational restriction it imposed on Tokyo Electric Power’s massive Kashiwazaki-Kariwa power plant two years ago, allowing it to move forward on the path towards a restart.
Tokyo Electric Power (Tepco) aims to bring the world’s largest atomic power plant back online to reduce operating costs, but the restart still depends on obtaining local consent in Niigata prefecture along the Sea of Japan coast.
The Kashiwazaki-Kariwa plant, with a capacity of 8,212 megawatts, has been offline since approximately 2011, following the Fukushima disaster, which led to the shutdown of all nuclear power plants in Japan at that time.
In 2021, the Nuclear Regulation Authority (NRA) prohibited Tepco from operating Kashiwazaki-Kariwa due to safety violations, including the inadequate protection of nuclear materials and lapses that allowed an unauthorized staff member to access sensitive areas of the plant.
The NRA, citing improvements in the safety management system, lifted a corrective action order on Wednesday, allowing Tepco to transport new uranium fuel to the plant and load fuel rods into its reactors.
However, the resumption still hinges on local approval. Tepco’s stock had experienced a significant increase earlier in the month when the NRA signalled its willingness to consider lifting the operational ban after conducting on-site inspections and meeting with the company’s president.
