Japan's Kansai Electric to scrap two aging nuke reactors: media

[October 17, 2017]    TOKYO (Reuters) - Japanese utility Kansai Electric Power Co is likely to decommission two aging reactors at Ohi nuclear plant because of the high costs meeting new safety standards set after the Fukushima disaster, the Nikkei business daily said on Tuesday.

The Osaka-based power utility is in talks with the local governments in Fukui prefecture, in western Japan where Ohi is located, and the final decision could come before winter, the report said without identifying sources.

Kansai depended on its nuclear fleet for nearly half of its total power output before the disaster at the Fukushima nuclear plant in 2011, when reactors melted down following an earthquake and tsunami.

Kansai is set to shut the No. 1 and No. 2 reactors at Ohi, each with a capacity of 1,175 megawatts and which started operations in 1979, Nikkei reported.

Kansai Electric issued a statement later on Tuesday saying that it has not made a decision to decommission the two reactors.

The company added that it was preparing to file the necessary application to gain approvals for restarting the Ohi No. 1 and No. 2 reactors and that it was examining technical and safety aspects.

(Reporting by Osamu Tsukimori; Editing by Christian Schmollinger)

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