OSAKA: The No. 4 reactor of Kansai Electric Power Co.’s Oi nuclear power plant in western Japan was suspended on Tuesday for periodic inspections, marking the first time since May 2017 for all of its reactors to go offline.

The company will have no active reactor until the No. 3 reactor of its Takahama plant is brought back online in late December.

In the checkup of the Oi No. 4 reactor, ultrasound examinations and replacement of piping will be conducted, while fuel will be replaced.

The reactor is scheduled to resume commercial operations in mid-February 2021.

According to Kansai Electric, an active reactor at Oi pushes up the company’s earnings by 3.5 billion yen per month, while one at Takahama raises its monthly earnings by 2.5 billion yen. Both plants are located in Fukui Prefecture.

Kansai Electric President Takashi Morimoto said at a news conference in late October that despite the suspensions of all its reactors, the company saw no need to revise its earnings estimate for the current business year to March 2021.

JIJI Press