Tohoku Electric Power Co. has announced that the No. 2 reactor at the Onagawa nuclear power plant will be restarted later this month, marking a de facto reactivation of the plant that has been shut down since the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake. The company expects power generation to resume in early November.
Previously, Tohoku Electric Power Co. had stated that the reactors at the Onagawa plant, located in Miyagi Prefecture between Onagawa and Ishinomaki, would restart “around October.” Kojiro Higuchi, president of the company, confirmed that the schedule for restarting the reactors is proceeding as planned.
Currently, inspections are being conducted on the No. 2 reactor in preparation for its restart. The Nuclear Regulation Authority will provide confirmation before it can be restarted. Notably, this will be the first time a boiling water reactor has been restarted since the devastating earthquake in 2011.
It is worth mentioning that Tokyo Electric Power Co.’s Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant also used a boiling water reactor and experienced an accident during the disaster.
Tohoku Electric Power Co.’s decision to restart operations at its Onagawa nuclear power plant signifies progress towards recovery from one of Japan’s most significant natural disasters and highlights ongoing efforts to ensure safe and reliable energy production in accordance with regulatory standards.