Utilities told to check data further

NIIGATA, Kyodo — The nuclear regulatory agency has ordered utilities to further review data on the quake-resistance of their nuclear reactors after Kansai Electric Power Co. found errors in such data in its 2009 report.

The Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency expects the review to be completed by October at the latest.

Nuclear plant operators must first finish the review before having the plants undergo stress tests required by the government amid the crisis at the Fukushima No. 1 power plant. The tests were introduced to allay public concerns about the safety of nuclear power.

A NISA official said that despite Monday's review order, he doesn't think utilities will experience a "significant delay" in submitting the outcome of the stress tests.

Utilities are required to clear the first round of the government's two-stage stress tests before being allowed to restart reactors idled for regular maintenance and checkups.

Over the past month, some errors have been uncovered in quake-safety data, leading NISA to issue orders aimed at enhancing the data's credibility. The latest order would make the companies check the data more broadly.

The No. 7 reactor at the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear power plant in Niigata Prefecture was suspended early Tuesday for an 83-day scheduled checkup, operator Tokyo Electric Power Co. said.

The reactor's suspension means only 14 of the nation's 54 commercial reactors are currently in operation. It will leave only reactors 5 and 6 operating at the plant, the biggest nuclear power complex in the world in terms of output power.

Tepco is required to undertake a newly introduced safety assessment procedure before restarting the reactor.

However, Niigata Gov. Hirohiko Izumida has expressed a cautious stance toward resumption of the reactor after the checkup and safety assessment, saying it is necessary to first examine the disaster at the Fukushima No. 1 power plant.

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