Takahama No. 2 Reactor Online for 1st Time in over 11 Yrs

Fukui, Sept. 15 (Jiji Press)--Kansai Electric Power Co. on Friday restarted the 47-year-old No. 2 reactor at its Takahama nuclear plant in Fukui Prefecture, central Japan, after an operational suspension of over 11 years.

With the move, all seven existing Kansai Electric nuclear reactors were online for the first time since the March 2011 triple meltdown at Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings Inc.'s Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant in northeastern Japan.

Around 3 p.m. Friday, Kansai Electric restarted the No. 2 reactor by beginning the work to remove control rods, which suppress nuclear fission reactions.

Power generation and transmission are expected to be resumed Wednesday after the reactor reaches criticality, or self-sustaining nuclear chain reactions, about 4 a.m. Saturday.

The company plans to conduct a general inspection of the reactor Oct. 16 before switching to commercial operations.

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]