Work for a full inspection of the quake-damaged No. 7 reactor began Tuesday at Tokyo Electric Power Co.'s Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear power plant. Workers opened the lid on the pressure container, the main body of the reactor. Of the power plant's seven reactors, No. 7 was the first to have its lid removed following the deadly July 16 quake.
Tepco customers save reactor's worth of power
Tokyo Electric Power Co. may have avoided a power supply shortage stemming from the shutdown of its biggest nuclear plant thanks to conservation efforts by corporate and household users, according to a Tepco estimate released Tuesday.</PARAGRAPH>
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<TD><FONT SIZE='1'><B>Workers remove part of the lid on the No. 7 reactor at Tokyo Electric Power Co.'s Kashiwazaki-Kariwa
nuclear plant Thursday in its first inspection of the interior of the reactor following the July 16
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<PARAGRAPH>The amount of electricity saved was equivalent to the output of one reactor, Tepco said.</PARAGRAPH>
<PARAGRAPH>The utility used TV commercials and other means to ask customers to carry out such energy-saving measures as raising their air-conditioner settings. The campaign was launched after a powerful earthquake in July forced the company to shut down its Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear power plant in Niigata Prefecture.</PARAGRAPH>
<PARAGRAPH>In July and August, Tepco sent a questionnaire to some 160 offices, department stores and other corporate users to check their use of electricity.</PARAGRAPH>
<PARAGRAPH>Tepco also received replies from about 2,000 households to an Internet survey carried out in August for the same purpose.</PARAGRAPH>
<PARAGRAPH>Analyzing survey findings about air-conditioner temperatures, Tepco estimates that some 1.1 million kilowatts of electricity were saved this summer, including 540,000 kw by households and 520,000 kw by businesses.</PARAGRAPH>
<PARAGRAPH>The saved electricity of 1.1 million kw is equivalent to the output of the No. 1 reactor in the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa power plant.</PARAGRAPH>
<SUBHEAD> Reactor lid opened</SUBHEAD>
<PARAGRAPH> NIIGATA –
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