Japan says it may have no nuke power for summer
Source: Agencies |
March 2, 2012, Friday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
IT is possible none of Japan's nuclear reactors - all but two of which were shut down after last year's Fukushima disaster - will be operating this summer when electricity demand peaks, the trade minister said yesterday.
Only two of 54 reactors are currently still operating amid safety concerns after the March 11 earthquake and tsunami triggered a radiation crisis at Tokyo Electric Power Co's Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, leading to widespread contamination and mass evacuations.
Tokyo Electric's last active reactor is set to go into maintenance on March 26, while Hokkaido Electric's Tomari No 3 unit is scheduled to be closed for routine checks in late April or early May.
No reactors shut for routine maintenance have restarted as they need to meet new safety checks and receive clearance from both the central and local governments.
"A tight supply-demand balance (of electricity) does not affect our judgment on nuclear safety and we are in the process of making that judgment," Trade Minister Yukio Edano, who holds the energy portfolio, told parliament.
"It is a quite possible that no reactors will resume operations towards the summer."
It was the clearest statement yet by Edano that all the reactors might well be offline in the summer. Edano said in January that Japan could avoid the mandatory power cuts seen last summer even if all reactors were down.
But some manufacturers such as steel makers are pressing for restarts.
Last summer, car and electronics makers coped with power cuts by shifting work schedules to off-peak hours while big steel makers met most needs with in-house electricity.
No reactor can restart until it passes computer-simulated "stress tests" to confirm it can withstand earthquakes and tsunamis on the scale that wrecked Fukushima Daiichi plant.
Only two of 54 reactors are currently still operating amid safety concerns after the March 11 earthquake and tsunami triggered a radiation crisis at Tokyo Electric Power Co's Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, leading to widespread contamination and mass evacuations.
Tokyo Electric's last active reactor is set to go into maintenance on March 26, while Hokkaido Electric's Tomari No 3 unit is scheduled to be closed for routine checks in late April or early May.
No reactors shut for routine maintenance have restarted as they need to meet new safety checks and receive clearance from both the central and local governments.
"A tight supply-demand balance (of electricity) does not affect our judgment on nuclear safety and we are in the process of making that judgment," Trade Minister Yukio Edano, who holds the energy portfolio, told parliament.
"It is a quite possible that no reactors will resume operations towards the summer."
It was the clearest statement yet by Edano that all the reactors might well be offline in the summer. Edano said in January that Japan could avoid the mandatory power cuts seen last summer even if all reactors were down.
But some manufacturers such as steel makers are pressing for restarts.
Last summer, car and electronics makers coped with power cuts by shifting work schedules to off-peak hours while big steel makers met most needs with in-house electricity.
No reactor can restart until it passes computer-simulated "stress tests" to confirm it can withstand earthquakes and tsunamis on the scale that wrecked Fukushima Daiichi plant.
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