TEPCO's Installed Capacity Slowly Gaining Ground

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Researched by Industrial Info Resources East Asia (Kofu-shi, Japan)--Other than the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power station, power stations and substations belonging to Tokyo Electric Power Company Incorporated (TYO:9501) (TEPCO) (Tokyo) seem to be resuming normal operations. As of now, all affected substations and hydropower stations under TEPCO have come back online, boosting the company's operational capacity.

Following the March 11 earthquake, TEPCO lost half of its operating capacity, prompting the company to implement rolling blackouts and call for power conservation on a massive scale. Businesses and residents have cooperated together in conservation efforts, allowing TEPCO to cancel certain scheduled blackouts on a case-by-case basis.

TEPCO's Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear power station in the Niigata prefecture is also helping the company pull through. Kashiwazaki-Kariwa's operations were interrupted in July 2007 due to the 6.6 Chuestsu offshore earthquake. Unit 5 came back online before the March 11 earthquake, to join units 1, 6 and 7 for an aggregate operating capacity of 4,912 megawatts (MW). Units 2 through 4 at the station remain down for scheduled maintenance and have no definite restart date.

Hirono thermal power station in Fukushima, shut down because of the earthquake, is located inside the 30-kilometer evacuation radius implemented because of the troubles at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power station. Plant officials and operators cannot currently reach the plant to check on its status or the extent of the damage it may have accrued. Hirono has an installed capacity of 3,800 MW generated by three 600-MW units and two 1,000-MW units. Both of the 1,000-MW units and two of the 600-MW units are oil-fired, while the remaining 600-MW units are coal-fired. TEPCO is unsure if the plant will return online before this summer.

Other power plants still affected due to the earthquake include:

• 2,000-MW Higashi-Ogishima, Kanagawa, liquefied natural gas-fired power station
• 4,000-MW Kashima, Ibaraki, oil-fired power station
• 2,000-MW Hitachinaka, Ibaraki, coal-fired power station

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