Japan: Power crisis 'can be averted': Govt says restarting Oi reactors key to preventing blackouts

This summer's expected power shortage in Kansai Electric Power Co.'s service area may be averted if two reactors at the Oi nuclear power plant are restarted in combination with power-saving efforts by businesses and households, according to the government's new power supply projection released Thursday.
This is the first time the government has presented a power demand-supply outlook on the assumption that a nuclear reactor will resume operations.
With no nuclear reactors operating in the country, KEPCO's service areas are expected to suffer a particularly serious power shortage this summer.

However, the government apparently believes a power crisis can be prevented if the resumption of the Oi nuclear reactors is coupled with energy-saving efforts from the public and private sectors, which initially took root after serious power shortages last summer.
The projection is likely to affect ongoing discussions among local governments and residents living near the Oi nuclear plant in Fukui Prefecture on whether to restart the Nos. 3 and 4 reactors, which were shut down last year for regular maintenance.
The government submitted a draft report on the assumption that nuclear reactors will not be reactivated to an expert panel tasked with verifying the country's power demand-supply outlook. It also presented projections on the assumption the Oi reactors were reactivated.
According to the government projections, reactivating the Oi reactors is expected to push up KEPCO's power supply capacity by 4.46 million kilowatts--2.36 million kilowatts of which are to be generated by the two reactors, plus an additional 2.1 million kilowatts to be generated by pumped storage hydropower using nighttime surplus power from the reactors.
The pumped storage hydropower system works most effectively in combination with nuclear reactors, which are able to generate a constant amount of electricity around the clock.
According to the projections, even if Japan experiences a record-breaking heat wave as it did in 2010, no power shortage is expected during peak hours if the Oi reactors are reactivated and KEPCO asks large-lot users to reduce their electricity consumption in accordance with a special contract asking them to do so in the event of a tight energy supply. Even if no such request were to be made, the power shortage will only reach 0.9 percent.
However, the figure is still short of a 3 percent power surplus--the amount generally considered necessary for sufficient supply if power generation facilities malfunction.
Even so, it will be possible for the government to avoid implementing compulsory energy-saving measures, such as power consumption limits and rolling blackouts.
The government projects that KEPCO's service areas will face a 15.7 percent power shortage, or 4.73 million kilowatts, if no nuclear reactors resume operation.
In that case, even if large-lot users are asked to curb their energy consumption, the region will still suffer a power shortage of 14.9 percent, or 4.45 million kilowatts.
If no nuclear reactors are reactivated nationwide, nine electric power companies will suffer a combined electricity shortage of 0.3 percent, according to government projections. But this figure is expected to recover to a 0.1 percent surplus if large-lot consumers take measures to save electricity under their special contracts with the utilities.
If the Oi reactors are restarted, there is expected to be an energy supply surplus even without efforts by large-lot users to reduce consumption, according to the projections.

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South Korea: Kepco aims to double UAE nuclear plant sales

SEOUL — Korea Electric Power Corp, or Kepco said it will begin talks next year with the UAE on a new deal for four nuclear power plants, and plans to spend 800 billion won ($706.06 million) this year on overseas resources development including acquisitions.

President and chief executive Kim Joong-kyum told reporters late on Monday that Kepco would begin exclusive talks with the UAE next year to build four nuclear plants to be completed by 2021, in addition to an existing deal for four reactors, aiming to conclude negotiations by the end of next year.

A Kepco deal for an additional four nuclear power plants in the UAE, taking the total to eight, would cement its reach in the Middle East market.

Kim said the state-run utility would start construction on an initial four nuclear power plants on July 1, advancing the start date by four months, pending regulatory approval by June 30, with completion scheduled for 2017-2020.

“As far as I know, the UAE has not held talks with other countries,” Kim said, referring to the prospective deal.

“Our efficiency will increase as we build the first four; we will achieve cost competitiveness if the same type of reactor is chosen ... we can shorten construction time, meaning earlier returns on investment.”

“Kepco has also been in talks with India, Kazakhstan, South Africa, Turkey and Vietnam over possible reactor exports, although any deals are unlikely to be signed this year,” he said.

Oil-exporting UAE awarded the contract for four reactors to a consortium of Korean companies led by Kepco in December 2009. Emirates Nuclear Energy Corp (ENEC) said at the time that the Kepco team would design, build and help operate four 1,400-megawatt nuclear power units, putting the value of construction, commissioning and fuel loads at about $20 billion.

ENEC said last month that it hoped to start building the first plant in the fourth quarter, if regulatory approval was received by the third quarter.

“We are looking into three to four deal candidates, including mines and companies,” Kim said regarding the company’s overseas investment plans this year. He added that Kepco was eyeing steaming coal and uranium assets in the US and South Africa to diversify procurement after almost zero investment last year.

“ENEC is focused on delivering a safe, peaceful nuclear energy program through its Prime Contract with KEPCO. Under the contract, which was signed in 2009, ENEC and KEPCO are working on the design and construction of four APR-1400 reactors to deliver safe, efficient, clean and reliable electricity to the UAE starting in 2017.”

“ENEC does not have any other contract in place, nor has it tendered any other contract for delivery of additional nuclear energy plants other than the four APR 1400 units.”, a spokesperson from ENEC said.

To ensure stable coal and uranium procurement, he said Kepco aimed to set up its first resources procurement and trading joint venture with Germany’s RWE AG this year in either Singapore or South Korea, after selecting RWE as preferred bidder last December.

Kepco fully owns five thermal coal power generating utilities in South Korea, the world’s No.3 coal buyer - Korea East West Power Co, Korea Southern Power Co, Korea South-East Power Co Ltd, Korea Western Power Co Ltd and Korea Midland Power Co.

It also has stakes in Indonesian and Australian coal mines and companies, and uranium mines and companies in Canada, Niger and the United States, according to company data.

South Korea, Asia’s fourth-largest economy, is heavily dependent on energy imports. It has been seeking ways to increase stable commodities and energy procurement as global prices soar. It imports almost all feedstocks for power generation.

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