Antinuclear

TEPCO eyes restarting 4 reactors by 2015 November 23, 2013 THE ASAHI SHIMBUN  by Mari Fujisaki and Takashi Ebuchi.) Tokyo Electric Power Co. hopes to have four nuclear reactors in Niigata Prefecture back online by 2015, including two planned for next summer, despite the crisis at its hobbled Fukushima nuclear plant.

The company intends to reactivate the No. 1 and No. 5 reactors at the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear plant during the first half of 2015 after restarting the No. 6 and No. 7 reactors as early as July 2014, sources said. Both plans will be included in the utility’s rehabilitation program when it is revised toward the end of this year.

The Kashiwazaki-Kariwa plant has seven reactors. TEPCO estimates that for each reactor restart its annual profit will increase by about 100 billion yen ($1 billion)……

it remains unclear whether TEPCO can restart the reactors under its proposed time frame. NRA screenings could drag on if regulators demand detailed investigations to confirm that no active faults run immediately under the reactors.

Consent of local communities is also essential, but Niigata Governor Hirohiko Izumida remains cautious. He has criticized plans to restart the two reactors next summer as a pipe dream.

Meanwhile, TEPCO will speed up streamlining its operations while expanding investments, the sources said……http://ajw.asahi.com/article/0311disaster/fukushima/AJ201311230052