Tag - kepco

 
 

KEPCO

Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Sep 4, 2015
Utilities buying new gas turbines to cut fuel bills
The nation's biggest power utilities are pushing ahead with plans to spend more on new turbines to improve the efficiency of their gas-fired power plants in an effort to lower fuel bills amid a protracted debate over the role of nuclear power.
JAPAN / KANSAI PERSPECTIVE
Aug 23, 2015
Top-heavy, nuke-clinging Kepco faces liberated electricity market
News that 7-Eleven stores in the Kansai region will trade Kansai Electric Power Co.'s electricity in favor of cheaper electricity from Tokyo Electric Power Co. has locals wondering if Kepco's six-decade monopoly over Kansai's electricity supply might be ending.
JAPAN / View from Osaka
Aug 15, 2015
Antinuclear activists need injection of fresh ideas
One of the basic jobs of any journalist is to cover public demonstrations. Not only do they make for great stories, they also provide the reporter with a chance to play amateur social anthropologist by observing how the individuals and groups involved interact with each other, and the public, before,...
JAPAN
Jul 2, 2015
NRA warns it may halt inspections at Mihama reactor Kepco aims to restart
Although Kansai Electric Power Co. aims to extend the life of the Mihama plant's No. 3 reactor by 20 years, the operator may be forced to scrap the 39-year-old facility instead.
JAPAN / ANALYSIS
Apr 16, 2015
Takahama nuclear restart injunction polarizing
A provisional injunction handed down Tuesday by the Fukui District Court against the restarting of Kansai Electric Power Co.'s Takahama No. 3 and 4 reactors is a boost to opponents of nuclear power, even as the decision draws criticism from senior politicians, nuclear regulators, Kepco, and pro-nuclear...
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Apr 14, 2015
Fukui court forbids Takahama nuclear plant restart
A Fukui court issues an injunction to prevent two NRA-cleared reactors at the Takahama nuclear plant from being restarted, citing doubtful quake-simulation data.
JAPAN
Feb 12, 2015
Takahama reactors clear NRA safety checks
Two reactors in Fukui Prefecture are declared safe by the Nuclear Regulation Authority, bringing a second nuclear power plant closer to restart.
BUSINESS
Feb 5, 2015
Kansai business leaders push for economic recovery ahead of rising power prices
Kansai's annual gathering of major corporate leaders opened Thursday in Kyoto with vows to accelerate economic recovery efforts, even as the chairman of the Kansai Economic Federation warned that spring electricity price hikes would exceed 10 percent.
JAPAN
Nov 26, 2014
Kepco wants to extend lifespan of 40-year-old Takahama reactors to 60 years
The utility said it hopes to apply for a 20-year extension for two aging reactors at the Takahama power plant, and it has begun conducting inspections toward that end.
JAPAN / Politics / KANSAI PERSPECTIVE
Sep 21, 2014
Mihama viewed as test case for Japan's aging nuclear reactors
In recognition of Japan's rapidly aging nuclear plants, Kansai Electric Power Co. has begun discussing the possibility of decommissioning the Mihama No. 1 and No. 2 reactors, now more than 40 years old, in Fukui Prefecture.
JAPAN / Politics / KANSAI PERSPECTIVE
Sep 21, 2014
Politicians discuss plan B in nuclear power push: underground reactors
With Japan's nuclear power plants nearing the end of their 40-year life cycle, a group of politicians is entertaining the idea of replacing them with underground reactors.
JAPAN / View from Osaka
Aug 16, 2014
Kepco: the monstrous 500-pound gorilla of Kansai
Last month, Chimori Naito, a 91-year-old former vice president at Kansai Electric Power Co., admitted what was hardly a secret but which put the utility under intense media scrutiny.
COMMENTARY / Japan / COUNTERPOINT
Jun 28, 2014
Abe's nuclear renaissance ignores stiff opposition
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's nuclear renaissance involves downplaying risks, restarting reactors, building new ones, and exporting reactor technology and equipment. A number of hurdles remain before he can rev up the reactors, but the summer of 2014 will probably be Japan's last nuclear-free one for decades...
Japan Times
JAPAN
May 28, 2014
Kepco could defy courts and restart Oi reactors despite legal block
Last week's ruling by the Fukui District Court blocking the restart of two reactors at the Oi power plant in Fukui Prefecture continues to create controversy, with operator Kansai Electric Power Co. saying it may defy the decision and fire up the reactors if three conditions are met even as safety concerns mount.

Longform

Professional cleaner Hirofumi Sakurai takes a moment to appreciate some photographs in a Gotanda apartment whose occupant died alone.
The last cleanup: Life and death in a lonely Japan