TOKYO: Kansai Electric Power Co, one of Japan's utilities most reliant on nuclear energy for power, is set to have the biggest power shortage among the country's nuclear plant operators bracing for shortfalls as reactors stay shut due to public safety concerns.
The deficit was the highest among four Japanese nuclear plant operators that said on Monday they expect to have shortfalls this summer.
Kansai Electric may have a power shortage of 19.3 percent in July unless it can use reactors it has not been able to restart after maintenance because of public scepticism about safety following the Fukushima disaster.
The forecasts assume power savings measures and temperatures similar to those seen in the record summer of 2010. Kansai Electric also said the shortfall in August may be 16.3 percent.
Japan's power companies been struggling to secure stable power supplies because of widespread anti-nuclear sentiment after last year's Fukushima nuclear crisis.
Industry minister Yukio Edano and other government officials have been trying to get the support of local communities for reactivating two idled reactors at Kansai Electric's Ohi nuclear power plant.
Since the meltdowns at Tokyo Electric Power Co's Fukushima Daiichi power plant triggered by the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami, no Japanese reactors have resumed operation after being shut down for mandatory periodic checks. The two Ohi reactors are the first to be considered for possible reactivation by the central government.
Comments
Comments are closed for this article.