TEPCO Decides to Halt N-plant Operations 1 Day After Restart

Yomiuri Shimbun file photo
The Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear power station

TOKYO (Jiji Press) — Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings, Inc. will begin work to stop the No. 6 reactor at its Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear power station in Niigata Prefecture on Thursday night, the company said.

The stoppage comes after TEPCO suspended the removal of control rods from the reactor earlier in the day, after an alarm sounded during the process. The reactor was reactivated only on Wednesday after a hiatus of 13 years and 10 months.

The restart was initially scheduled for Tuesday but was postponed after an alarm failed to sound during a test to remove control rods on Saturday.

According to TEPCO, the latest glitch occurred at 12:28 a.m. Thursday. The company replaced electronic components in the device that controls the rods, but the problem persisted.