TEPCO Delays Commercial Operation at Kashiwazaki-Kariwa

Tokyo, March 19 (Jiji Press)–Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings Inc. said Thursday that the No. 6 reactor at its Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear power plant in Niigata Prefecture, central Japan, is expected to start commercial operation in April at the earliest, later than initially planned for Wednesday. After an alarm went off indicating a slight electricity leak from the generator on March 12, the company suspended power generation and transmission from the reactor to investigate the cause. TEPCO plans to resume power generation and transmission as early as Sunday after replacing parts with those that are less susceptible to vibrations from the generator. According to an analysis by the company, the alarm was triggered when the vibrations of the generator caused a crack in the parts that detect electric leakage. If all goes smoothly, the turbine will be started on Sunday or later, and power generation for transmission to the Tokyo metropolitan area will resume. The reactor’s output will be increased from 20 pct to 100 pct over the course of about one week. Following a final inspection, the reactor is expected to enter commercial operation after confirmation by the Nuclear Regulation Authority. TEPCO halted the operation of the No. 6 reactor soon after its restart on Jan. 21 due to a configuration fault in a warning system for control rods. The company reactivated the reactor on Feb. 9 and began power generation and transmission on Feb. 16. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]