On July 15, the Kansai Electric Power Co. (Kansai EP) restarted its Ohi-4 Nuclear Power Plant (PWR, 1,180MW), which had been undergoing a periodic inspection. Adjustment operations began two days later, and the unit will return to commercial service on August 12 following a final inspection by the Nuclear Regulation Authority (NRA) of Japan.
On August 10, operations will commence at Ohi-4’s emergency response building, a permanent backup facility to be used in the event of an intentional aircraft strike or terrorist attack. It is referred to as a “specialized safety facility,” required under the new regulatory standards. It will be the first time an anti-terrorism facility will start operation during an adjustment operation. A grace period of five years had been provided for the installation of anti-terrorism facilities, after approval of designs and work plans for the main reactor bodies. The grace period for the Ohi-4 will expire on August 24.
Permission to make changes to reactor installations has been granted for 13 reactors, and specialized safety facilities have started operation at five of them. On July 13, the NRA approved a draft review report for the Kashiwazaki Kariwa-6 & -7 NPPs of the Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO).
Source: JAIF