Getting Unprofitable Business

Not only resumption of the reactors is going to delay, it is likely for Japan to be an nuclear-free country this summer. A study team in the Nuclear Regulation Authority on Thursday released its draft of new security standard for all nuclear power plants in Japan in July. Regretting the severe accident in the First Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant two year ago, the authority is going to set a strict regulation to power companies. Nuclear generation in Japan, the geologically unstable islands, is getting an unprofitable business.

New standard will be extremely strict. To protect a plant from tsunami, the authority requires every nuclear plant building seawall being able to block the highest wave the science can expect. Underground active fault must be investigated in the layer of four hundred thousand years ago or later, while the previous standard was about one hundred thirty thousand years ago or later.

To deal with a severe accident, every plant needs to set ventilating system with filter for preventing hydrogen explosion. This requirement will be immediately applied to the boiled water nuclear reactors, while moratorium may be set for pressurized water reactors. In addition, the authority requires emergency operating room for dealing with severe accident, and the second control room to deal with terrorist attack.

A member of the study group told that the regulation should be applied to the currently operating reactors at the beginning of new standard. Now, only two reactors, the third and fourth of Oi Nuclear Power Plant, are operating. The rest out of the fifty reactors are halted, with some reasons such as inspection. Since it is unlikely for those two active reactors to implement those conditions by July, and there is no perspective of resumption of other reactors, all the nuclear generation plants in Japan will be out of operation this summer.

New standard requires all nuclear power business new cost for security. Most companies have been trying to balance the cost by charging higher rate on users. But it is not enough for companies to maintain their traditional benefit from nuclear generation. Foreseeing the decline of power business, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, which oversees power plant business, began to reform power business. To break down the monopoly of power business, the ministry decided to request the separation of power generation from distribution within next five years.

In the background of those cool attitude to power business is intentional reluctance of the business to accepting the magnitude of Fukushima accident and to their voluntary reform. They are so occupied in going back to the missed nuclear business that they cannot find a new way, or new kind of energy, for their survival.