Japanese nuclear safety regulators are lifting an operational ban imposed on Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings, the operator behind the Fukushima disaster
Japanese nuclear safety regulators lifted an operational ban Wednesday imposed on Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings, the operator behind the Fukushima plant that ended in disaster, allowing the company to resume preparations for restarting a separate plant after more than 10 years.
At its weekly meeting, the Nuclear Regulation Authority formally lifted the more than two-year ban imposed on the TEPCO over its lax safety measures, saying a series of inspections and meetings with company officials has shown sufficient improvement. The decision removes an order that prohibited TEPCO from transporting new fuel into the plant or placing it into reactors, a necessary step for restarting Kashiwazaki-Kariwa’s reactors.
The plant on Japan’s northern coast of Niigata is TEPCO’s only workable nuclear power plant since the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami put its Fukushima Daiichi plant out of operation.
