The first of Japan’s reactors idled following the Fukushima Daiichi accident returned to commercial service Wednesday.
Like dozens of reactors around the country, Unit 3 at Hokkaido Electric Power Co.’s Tomari nuclear plant was taken offline for routine inspections but did not return to service after the accident because of pressure from local and national politicians. The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry warned that Hokkaido, Japan’s second-largest island, would face power shortages if the reactor were not brought back online, and Japanese media reported the region’s governor ended her cautious stance on the restart Wednesday.
The unit began a regular inspection in March, shortly before a magnitude 9 earthquake and tsunami overwhelmed plant safety systems at Fukushima. Although Tomari 3 was scheduled to reconnect to the grid in April and has operated at full power for inspections for months, the resumption of normal operation was delayed as Japanese regulators reassessed their safety programs. After the accident, the government ordered “stress tests” of all Japanese reactors, but the Japan Times reported the Tomari unit was allowed to reenter service after undergoing only the computer modeling of the tests’ second phase.
In July, the country’s nuclear power utilization rate was at only 33.9 percent, the Daily Yomiuri reported – the result of local government opposition to restarting reactors taken out of service for maintenance. As more reactors are scheduled to go down for maintenance, a government report warned recently that Japan could face a 7.8 percent primary energy supply shortage by fall and an eventual 5.6 percent drop in gross domestic product if reactors are not brought back online.