Kashiwazaki-Kariwa N-Reactor Restarted after Scheduled Halt

Tokyo, Feb. 24 (Jiji Press)--The No. 6 reactor at the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear power plant in Niigata Prefecture, central Japan, was brought back online on Tuesday after a scheduled brief halt.

Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings Inc. reactivated the reactor at 6:25 a.m. after the suspension since Friday, part of procedures for a full-scale restart of a reactor that has been offline for an extended period.

The brief halt was carried out for inspections, including checking for abnormalities in turbine-related equipment, which started generating and sending electricity for the first time in about 14 years. TEPCO did not find any issues in the inspections.

The company aims to increase reactor output to 100 pct after resuming power generation and transmission to the Tokyo metropolitan area as early as this month. It will conduct a final check on March 18, planning to start commercial operations following regulatory approval.

The reactor was restarted on the night of Jan. 21 after a prolonged suspension since March 2012. But it was suspended shortly after the restart due to an issue with a device to move control rods.

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]