Edison/San Onofre v Mitsubishi Nuclear Claim
Channel: OTWTE
Date: 2013-07-25

http://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/

MITSUBISHI HEAVY BLAMED FOR NUCLEAR PLANT CLOSURE

A US utility is blaming Mitsubishi Heavy Industries for defective steam generators that led to the closure of its nuclear plant in California.

 Southern California Edison said it sent a demand for compensation to the Japanese company on Thursday.

 The San Onofre plant in southern California suspended operation in January last year when a radioactive leak led to the discovery of excessive wear in the pipes of the steam generators.

 The operator decided to shut down the plant for good last month, judging that it wouldn't be profitable.

 The letter said Mitsubishi Heavy Industries was supposed to fix the steam generators immediately but failed to do so.

 It said this was a grave breach of contract and demanded compensation from the Japanese company.

 The utility did not mention the size of damages it is seeking. It said it will record a loss of about 450 million to 650 million dollars due to the closure of the plant.

 It said it will seek legal arbitration if the case is not settled in 90 days.

Jul. 19, 2013 - Updated 02:58 UTC

TEPCO HOPES EXTRA PAY WILL STOP MANAGERS QUITTING

The operator of the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant has decided to give managers lump-sum payments to stop them quitting their jobs.

 Tokyo Electric Power Company says the number of early retirees jumped to over 700 in the last fiscal year from about 130 in fiscal 2010, before the plant was hit by a nuclear accident.

 It says more than 1,200 employees quit in the period from the accident to last month.

 About 40 percent of early retirees in the last fiscal year were in key positions when they decided to leave the company.

 TEPCO says it has a sense of crisis that its business, including power generation and affairs related to nuclear accident compensation, could be hampered.

 The decision to give about 5,000 managers the equivalent of 1,000 dollars each will cost the company about 5 million dollars.

 The company has cut the annual salaries of its managers by 30 percent since last fiscal year.

 Criticism is expected over the move, as some say TEPCO has yet to fully compensate those who were affected by the nuclear accident.

Jul. 19, 2013 - Updated 06:29 UTC

NUCLEAR REGULATOR DELAYS SAFETY INSPECTIONS

Japan's nuclear regulator says it will not start safety inspections of 2 reactors on the northern island of Hokkaido.

 The Nuclear Regulation Authority on Tuesday held its second meeting on safety inspections of reactors that went offline after the 2011 Fukushima nuclear accident.

 Operators of 5 nuclear plants this month applied for the inspections as a prerequisite for restarting their reactors under new safety guidelines.

 But authority officials said safety measures against serious accidents at the number one and 2 reactors at the Tomari plant have not been assessed properly, and that they are not ready for inspections.

 The authority says it will go ahead with inspections of the plant's number 3 reactor.

 The officials said they will start inspecting the Takahama plant in Fukui Prefecture after its operator reevaluates possible tsunami damage using stricter estimates.

 The regulator plans to inspect the Ohi plant, also in Fukui, after determining whether a fault beneath the facility is active.

 The authority also requested reevaluations of faults at 2 other plants in western Japan.

Jul. 23, 2013 - Updated 11:55 UTC

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