TEPCO eyes earlier decision on Kashiwazaki-Kariwa N-reactors

"We will try to move forward the timing of deciding whether to decommission the plant's No. 1 to No. 5 reactors without waiting for two years after the restart of the No. 6 reactor," Kobayakawa said in a meeting with Kashiwazaki Mayor Masahiro Sakurai.

At the meeting in the city of Niigata Prefecture, Sakurai said that TEPCO's policy is basically understandable as it was made after sincerely discussing the matter repeatedly.

He told reporters that there is no change in the city's view that the restart of the No. 6 reactor is "significant for TEPCO, Japan and Kashiwazaki."

TEPCO had planned to decide whether to decommission the No. 1 to No. 5 reactors "within two years" after reactivating the No. 6 and No. 7 reactors. However, it is now challenging to bring the No. 7 reactor back online in the near term due to delays in the construction of an antiterrorism facility.

Since local community consent is crucial for the plant's restart, clarifying the decommissioning policy may help build understanding and gain support, including from Niigata Governor Hideyo Hanazumi.

"We will make a decision (on the restart) at an appropriate time after the results of the prefectural public awareness survey come out", at the end of October or later, Hanazumi told a news conference on Wednesday.

In June, TEPCO announced it would prioritise the restart of the No. 6 reactor over the No. 7 reactor, which will not be brought back online until August 2029, when the construction of the antiterrorism facility is scheduled to end.

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]