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2012 September 5 - 11 TOP3 [NUCLEAR CRISIS]

Power supply sufficient without NPPs: JCP demanding KEPCO break with nuclear power

Representatives of the Japanese Communist Party on September 5 requested Kansai Electric Power Company (KEPCO) to stop its operations of the Oi nuclear power plant in Fukui Prefecture, arguing that the power supply is sufficient without operating the plant.

JCP member of the House of Councilors Yamashita Yoshiki and members of the JCP’s 6 prefectural committees in the Kinki region visited the headquarters of KEPCO in Osaka City. KEPCO is the operator of the Oi plant.

The power company forcibly reactivated the two offline nuclear reactors at the Oi plant early in July claiming that the supply of electricity would fall short by 4.45 million kW (15% of the demand) this summer. However, in reality, the power supply exceeded the demand by 810,000 kW even when the demand reached its peak on August 3, according to a KEPCO document.

Yamashita said to company officials, “KEPCO’s argument that people would suffer an electricity shortage this summer without the power supply from the Oi plant has turned out to be false.” He demanded that the utility immediately shut down the reactors based on the lessons learned regarding the dangers of NPPs following the severe accident at the Fukushima Daiichi plant.

A petition the JCP delegates handed to KEPCO’s officials criticized the company’s intention to restart another NPP in Takahama Town, Fukui Prefecture, referring to the fact that the government ordered an additional assessment on 6 NPPs in the country, including the Oi plant, because possible active faults were found directly below them. It also requested that KEPCO decide to decommission all the nuclear reactors it operates and work harder to commission the use of renewable energy throughout the nation.

The officials just replied, “We have received your request.”