Saturday, Nov. 5, 2011
Problem with restart of reactor
Kyushu Electric Power Co. on Tuesday restarted the No. 4 reactor at its Genkai nuclear power plant in Saga Prefecture, which had been shut down since it developed trouble Oct. 4. Due to the nature of the trouble, it was not legally required to get prior approval for the restart from the town of Genkai and the Saga prefectural government in accordance with agreements on plant safety. The reactor was not subject to a stress test either, since it had not been going through a regular inspection.
But the restart of the reactor will deepen people's distrust of Kyushu because its problem behavior has been exposed and its decision to restart the reactor gives the impression that it gives priority to securing profits rather than safety.
The firm is known to have manipulated a public discussion meeting in 2005 on the introduction of MOX plutonium-uranium fuel to the Genkai plant. And in October it snubbed a third-party committee's report on the discussion manipulation.
Kyushu decided to restart the reactor although it and the company's five other reactors will stop operations in December due to regular inspections. A high-ranking Kyushu official said that there was no need to continue the stoppage of a reactor that can be operated. By restarting the Genkai No. 4 reactor, the firm can save ¥300 million to ¥400 million a day by cutting the costs of buying fuel for thermal power stations, for a total of more than ¥10 billion over 1½ months...
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/ed20111105a1.htmlPower companies behind anonymous donations in Fukui
November 04, 2011
In September 2006, Kansai Electric Power Co. restarted the aging No. 3 reactor at its Mihama nuclear power plant in Fukui Prefecture and informed the town of plans to operate it for an additional decade.
In that fiscal year, after a dry spell of three years, Mihama received about 1.2 billion yen ($15.4 million) in anonymous donations. The following year, 1 billion yen in anonymous donations poured into the town.
Town officials have refused to say where the money came from. But an investigation by The Asahi Shimbun shows that electric power companies have provided a huge amount of anonymous donations not only to Mihama, but also to other municipalities that host nuclear power facilities in Fukui Prefecture.
Through requests for information disclosure, The Asahi Shimbun found that at least 50.2 billion yen in large anonymous donations were made over the years until fiscal 2010 to Fukui Prefecture and four municipalities. The prefecture is home to 15 nuclear reactors, including one now being dismantled, the largest number in Japan...
http://ajw.asahi.com/article/0311disaster/fukushima/AJ2011110416562Ailing TEPCO to get 890 billion yen in government aid
November 05, 2011
Tokyo Electric Power Co. will receive 890 billion yen ($11.4 billion) in official funding after the central government on Nov. 4 approved the utility's emergency special business plan.
The same day, TEPCO announced its earnings for the six-month period ending in September and reported a consolidated net loss of 627.2 billion yen.
While the government support will allow TEPCO to stay afloat, decisions on important issues were put off, including whether the utility should be allowed to raise electricity rates.
The emergency special business plan was submitted jointly by TEPCO and the government agency tasked with supporting the company's compensation payments...
http://ajw.asahi.com/article/economy/business/AJ2011110516652Cities at war over need for Hamaoka nuke plant
By RYOTA GOTO / Staff Writer
November 07, 2011
Six months after former Prime Minister Naoto Kan asked Chubu Electric Power Co. to shut down its Hamaoka nuclear power plant due to risks of a powerful quake and tsunami, the utility is still poised to restart it after reinforcing safeguards.
But local governments in the vicinity of the plant, in Omaezaki, Shizuoka Prefecture, are not on the same wavelength over Chubu Electric's plan to go back online.
The mayor of Omaezaki has not opposed the restart, as 40 percent of his city's revenues come from property taxes on the nuclear plant and subsidies related to the facility.
But the city of Makinohara, part of which is located within 10 kilometers of the plant, wants it to be shut down permanently, worried that an accident there could drive away a major automotive plant...
http://ajw.asahi.com/article/behind_news/social_affairs/AJ2011110716746