Kyushu Electric Power Co. cleared the final screening hurdle for a resumption of operations at its Sendai nuclear power plant in Kagoshima Prefecture.
Kyushu Electric Power Co. cleared the final screening hurdle for a resumption of operations at its Sendai nuclear power plant in Kagoshima Prefecture.
The Nuclear Regulation Authority on May 27 approved the operational and accident-response manuals submitted by Kyushu Electric Power.
The utility will now conduct checks of the equipment at the nuclear power plant before reactivating the reactors. The No. 1 reactor could restart as early as late July. The utility expects to resume operations at the No. 2 reactor by late September.
It submitted the paperwork for three separate screenings in July 2013.
In September 2014, the NRA approved the basic direction of safety measures at the Sendai plant that were required under new standards implemented after the 2011 accident at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant.
The utility also submitted construction plans to change reactor design in line with its safety measures.
The NRA approved the construction plan for the No. 1 reactor in March 2015 and for the No. 2 reactor on May 22.
The manuals that received approval on May 27 contained procedures for dealing with major accidents, such as a huge volcanic eruption.
The guidelines call for constant monitoring of volcanic activity and if a major eruption appears imminent, the president of Kyushu Electric Power is to issue instructions to stop operations at the Sendai reactors and remove the nuclear fuel.