Photo/Illutration Niigata Governor Hideyo Hanazumi announces approval of the restart of the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear power plant at a news conference in Niigata on Nov. 21. (Tetsuro Takehana)

NIIGATA—Niigata Governor Hideyo Hanazumi announced on Nov. 21 that he has approved the restart of Tokyo Electric Power Co.’s Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear power plant located in the prefecture and hopes to get backing from the prefectural assembly.

“Niigata Prefecture will give its consent,” the governor said at a news conference at the prefectural government's building. 

As a prerequisite, he said that prefectural officials will carefully explain the safety of the nuclear plant and confirm the central government’s responses, such as promptly deciding on policies for improving evacuation routes.

Regarding his decision, Hanazumi said that he will seek a judgment from the prefectural assembly at its regular session, which begins on Dec. 2.

“I would like the prefectural assembly to decide whether to grant or withhold confidence in my continued performance of my gubernatorial duties,” he said. “If they decide they cannot, I will resign.”

The Liberal Democratic Party, which supports restarting the plant, holds a majority in the assembly and the governor is likely to win approval.

If a vote of confidence is obtained, Hanazumi will convey prefectural support for the restart to the central government.

The mayors of Kashiwazaki and Kariwa, where the plant is located, have expressed understanding for the restart, and the procedures for the required “local consent” are expected to be completed within the year.

TEPCO, which operates the crippled Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant, will resume nuclear plant operations for the first time since the 2011 accident, likely within this fiscal year.

For TEPCO, restarting the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear power plant is the cornerstone of its business reconstruction plan. 

Compensation for the Fukushima accident and plant decommissioning costs currently total 23.4 trillion yen ($149.3 billion), with TEPCO bearing more than 16 trillion yen of that burden.

These costs are likely to increase further, while the company’s business performance continues to decline due to customer losses caused by the liberalization of the electric market in 2016, which allows consumers to choose their power providers.

TEPCO estimates that operating just one nuclear reactor would save fuel costs for thermal power generation, improving its annual balance sheet by 100 billion yen, and plans to allocate those savings to cover accident-related expenses.

All seven reactors at the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa plant were taken offline by March 2012, following the Fukushima nuclear disaster.

After restarting the No. 6 reactor at the plant, TEPCO intends to also bring the No. 7 reactor online. The plant's No. 1 and 2 reactors are under consideration for decommissioning.

Related News