These electric power companies and nuclear reactor manufacturers seemingly aim to work together and push in the same direction to secure survival of their nuclear power generation business.
Four companies -- Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings Inc., Chubu Electric Power Co., Hitachi, Ltd. and Toshiba Corp. -- have started considering a partnership on nuclear power business. If this tie-up becomes a reality, it would create an unusual alliance between major electric utilities that operate nuclear plants and manufacturers of nuclear reactors.
The four companies said that they anticipate cooperation in areas including the maintenance and management of nuclear power plants and the decommissioning of reactors.
Since the March 2011 accident at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant, the construction and expansion of nuclear plants has come to a halt. Only nine reactors have been restarted since the accident. The costs of ensuring the safety of nuclear plants also have skyrocketed.
The environment surrounding nuclear power business has only become more severe. It is understandable that these four companies seek to build a partnership at a time when there is a sense of urgency over the lack of future prospects for nuclear power business if they go it alone.
All four companies use or make boiling water reactors -- the kind that was used at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant. Since the 2011 accident, not a single boiling water reactor has resumed operation. If four companies with experience in this type of reactor work together in operating it, it would help make their business more efficient.
Its significance would not be small if the engineering staff of electric utilities and reactor manufacturers joined forces, which would maintain or improve their technological standards. These efforts also would help secure the human resources needed in the future.
Govt must show vision
The companies' construction technologies and operating expertise for nuclear power plants could be sold overseas as a set. It also will become easier to steadily and safely decommission reactors, a task that will be needed more often in the years ahead.
However, twists and turns can be expected in the path toward giving shape to this tie-up.
TEPCO will shoulder about 16 trillion yen of the cost of cleaning up the Fukushima nuclear accident. The three other companies have a deep-rooted sense of caution over whether they should team up with TEPCO, which has massive debts.
Tougher safety regulations and other steps taken abroad also have had a major impact on these companies.
Hitachi plans to build a nuclear power plant in Britain, but the construction costs have ballooned. Hitachi is continuing negotiations with the British government and other bodies over how these expenses will be shouldered. Toshiba has pulled out of overseas nuclear power business following a business failure in the United States.
There are high hopes for the export of nuclear infrastructure. But at a time when the prospects for such exports remain unclear, there is no telling if the tie-up negotiations will proceed smoothly.
The government also has a crucial role to play. The nation's Basic Energy Plan positioned nuclear power plants as an important baseload power source, but it did not spell out any overall direction for the building or expansion of nuclear power facilities.
Japan's nuclear reactors can operate for a maximum of 60 years. If new reactors are not built or existing units are not upgraded, the number of reactors will continue to decline. If the nuclear power industry lacks a promising future, it will not be able to nurture the next generation of workers who will bear the responsibility of upholding this sector. Passing down honed techniques also will become difficult. The government should clarify a policy to push ahead with building or expanding nuclear plants, on the premise that their safety can be assured.
The success or otherwise of the four-company partnership could influence future nuclear power policies. The government must show a mid- and long-term vision that enables the nuclear power business to survive.
(From The Yomiuri Shimbun, Aug. 30, 2018)
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