Costs for N-Plant Safety Measures Top 2 T. Yen in Japan

Tokyo, July 5 (Jiji Press)--Costs for nuclear safety measures at 10 major Japanese power companies reached 2.2 trillion yen, the latest tally showed Saturday, an increase of 1.5-fold from a year before. The costs are mainly for meeting new safety standards introduced in July last year following the nuclear accident at Tokyo Electric Power Co.'s <9501> Fukushima No. 1 power plant damaged in the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami. With some companies planning additional safety measures, the costs are expected to grow further, industry sources said. The 10 companies are the country's 10 regional power suppliers, excluding Okinawa Electric Power Co. <9511> which does not have any nuclear plant, as well as Japan Atomic Power Co. The data cover costs after the March 2011 disaster, excluding TEPCO whose numbers date back to the 2007 powerful earthquake that struck central Japan. Before their restart, nuclear reactors need to meet the new safety standards, which require a series of measures, including installing equipment and building facilities to help them withstand major earthquakes and tsunami. Costs for meeting the standards have ballooned from initial estimates by power companies as some of them are asked to strengthen safety measures by the Nuclear Regulation Authority, the sources said. TEPCO applied for the NRA's safety screenings for the No. 6 and 7 reactors at its Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear power plant in the central prefecture of Niigata in September last year. The company saw its safety costs grow to 470 billion yen from 320 billion yen estimated in July last year as it added plans to install filtered vents, as required by the new standards, and enhanced measures for fire accidents. Filtered vents are designed to release steam from reactor containment vessels in the event of a severe nuclear accident. Chubu Electric Power Co. <9502>, which applied for NRA safety screening for the No. 4 reactor at its Hamaoka nuclear plant in Shizuoka Prefecture, central Japan, now expects to spend 300 billion yen on safety measures, against 150 billion yen projected as of July last year. Those measures include building a 22-meter breakwater wall and reinforcing pipes to prepare for a possible powerful earthquake in the Nankai Trough off Japan's Pacific coast. Costs by Kansai Electric Power Co. <9503> are now estimated at 297.5 billion yen, up slightly from 285 billion yen a year before. The company applied for NRA safety screenings for the No. 3 and 4 reactors at its Oi nuclear plant and the No. 3 and 4 reactors at its Takahama nuclear plant, both in the central prefecture of Fukui. But Kansai Electric may face a surge in its safety costs as it plans to project stronger earthquakes than current levels. Tohoku Electric Power Co. <9506>, which has kept its safety costs unchanged, said that the costs will rise from current levels. Power companies are likely to face pressure to boost cost-cutting efforts as increased spending on nuclear safety measures is likely to force them to lift electricity fees. END