TEPCO Changes Niigata N-Reactor Restart Plan

   Kariwa, Niigata Pref., June 25 (Jiji Press)--Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings Inc. has changed the schedule for restarting reactors at its Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear plant in Niigata Prefecture, it was learned Wednesday.
   TEPCO decided to put the No. 6 reactor back online ahead of the No. 7 unit, which is ready to get restarted, however, Takeyuki Inagaki, head of the plant, told a press conference in the Niigata village of Kariwa.
   "It's difficult to relaunch the two reactors at the same time," he said. "As the person in charge of ensuring the safety of the nuclear plant, I find it necessary to concentrate on the No. 6 reactor."
   Fully loaded with nuclear fuel last year, the No. 7 reactor is waiting to return to operation. However, its early restart is unlikely as the deadline for the construction of an on-site antiterrorism facility is coming in October and as there is no prospect for the restart without the facility to win local consent.
   Now it is widely believed that TEPCO cannot reactivate the reactor until August 2029, when the antiterror measure is scheduled to be in place.

(2025/06/25-17:27)