TOKYO -
Tokyo Electric Power Co., the operator
of the troubled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, has begun steps to
suspend operations at its last running nuclear reactor in order to carry out
checks.
The No.
6 unit at the company’s Kashiwazaki-Kariwa plant is expected to be shut down
early on Monday, leaving all of the 17 reactors idle, including three units
which have suffered a meltdown at the Fukushima Daiichi.
The No.
6 unit is scheduled to undergo checks for about two and a half months.
As a
result, only one of Japan’s 54 commercial nuclear reactors will remain online.
It is a unit at Hokkaido Electric Power Co.’s plant on Hokkaido, northern
Japan.
But
that reactor is also due to be shut down in early May for scheduled maintenance
work.
“We are
expected to secure a stable supply of electric power for the time being,” Tokyo
Electric president Toshio Nishizawa said in a statement.
“But we
call on the customers to continue cooperating in saving electricity within a
reasonable range.”
A
9.0-magnitude earthquake and ensuing massive tsunami ravaged Japan’s northeast
coast in March last year, leaving 19,000 dead and sparking meltdowns at the
Fukushima plant, some 220 kilometres (140 miles) northeast of Tokyo.
Due to
safety worries following the worst nuclear accident in 25 years many power
utilities cannot restart reactors even after undergoing regular checks.
Despite
the government’s declaration in December that the crippled Fukushima plant had
been brought to a stable “cold shutdown” state, 92 percent are worried about
it, a survey has said.
AFP
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