Japan Aug nuclear plant usage 5.1 pct vs July 2.9 pct

Japan's nuclear power plant utilisation rate rose to 5.1 percent in August from 2.9 percent in July, a Reuters calculation based on trade ministry data showed on Monday.

With only two reactors in operation, the run rate marks a sharp fall from 26.4 percent in August 2011.
Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda has suggested no more reactors will be allowed to restart until a new nuclear regulator takes over from existing watchdogs, due this month. It is expected to take several months for the new regulator to announce its own safety regulations.in July,

Kansai Electric Power Co resumed operations of two reactors at its Ohi plant after receiving approval from Noda and three other key ministers to avert potential blackouts in Osaka and surrounding areas of western Japan over the summer peak demand period.

They were the first restarts since last year's earthquake and tsunami triggered the Fukushima nuclear crisis, which by early May this year had resulted in all of the country's 50 reactors being kept offline for safety checks.

Nine Japanese utilities and a non-utility electricity wholesaler, Japan Atomic Power Co, have 50 nuclear power generators for commercial use, with a total generating capacity of 46,148 MW.

Before Fukushima, Japan had 54 reactors that supplied about 30 percent of the nation's electricity needs.

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Japan - First Reactor Is Restarted Since Quake

TOKYO — A two-month shutdown of Japan’s nuclear power plants ended on Sunday when officials at a western plant reactivated a reactor for the first time since the disaster last year in Fukushima.

The restarting of reactor No. 3 at the Ohi nuclear plant was ordered two weeks ago by Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda, in a decision that has spurred growing public protests. 

The plant’s operator, Kansai Electric Power, had been working since then to prepare the reactor to resume its operations on Sunday. 

All of Japan’s 50 functional reactors were taken offline one by one for safety checks after the disaster at the Fukushima Daiichi plant, which contaminated a large part of northern Japan with radiation. 

The last reactor was shut down in early May amid widespread public concern over the safety of nuclear plants in the event of another large earthquake and tsunami of the sort that struck Japan in March 2011. 

Mr. Noda said the restarting of the reactor was necessary to avoid crippling power shortages in the heavily urbanized Kansai region, which the plant serves. However, his decision has drawn unusually vocal public opposition in normally compliant Japan, with many Japanese saying that he ignored safety concerns to protect the powerful nuclear industry.

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Worried About Jobs, Japan's PM Restarts Two Nuclear Reactors

Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda said on Friday he has decided that two idled nuclear reactors in western Japan must be restarted to protect jobs and avoid damage to the economy, adding that steps had been taken to prevent a recurrence of the Fukushima disaster.

The decision - expected to be confirmed at a meeting with key ministers - will ease worries about power shortages among firms in the region, including struggling electronics giants Panasonic Corp and Sharp Corp.
But the move, seen by many as a first step to bringing more reactors on line, could undermine Noda's already sagging support among voters still worried about safety after the world's worst nuclear crisis in 25 years.
Noda said the government had confirmed that even if Kansai Electric Co's two reactors at its Ohi plant in Fukui lost power as happened after Fukushima, there would be no damage to the reactors' core.

"Cheap and stable electricity is vital. If all the reactors that previously provided 30 percent of Japan's electricity supply are halted, or kept idle, Japanese society cannot survive," Noda said, pointing to the possibility that more companies would shift production offshore and jobs would be lost.

"It is my decision that Ohi reactors No.3 and No.4 should be restarted to protect the people's livelihoods," Noda said. Nuclear power had supplied nearly 30 percent of Japan's electricity needs before last year's earthquake and tsunami wrecked the Fukushima plant.

All of the country's 50 reactors have been taken offline since then, risking power shortages especially in the western metropolis of Osaka and other parts of Kansai Electric Power Co's service area.

A group of regional governors, long concerned about whether it was safe to resume power generation at the two reactors, last week signaled their agreement to the restarts as a "limited" step.

But the governor of the host prefecture of Fukui has yet to sign off, saying the ball was in the government's court and insisting that Noda make his stance clear to the public. A formal decision is expected to be made at a meeting of Noda and other key ministers after the Fukui governor responds.

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