The power utility industry will urge the government to extend the interval between regular checkups of nuclear reactors by up to five months to raise their operation rates and competitiveness against low-cost new suppliers, industry sources said Monday.
The government is expected to consider the request positively, partly because the state has already set operations of reactors in a longer cycle under its long-term atomic power research and development plan.
High operation rates are also seen as a powerful means of reducing the amount of carbon dioxide, a major source of global warming, they said.