We have to go on providing the inexpensive and stable supply of electricity that underpins socioeconomic activities, and we have to restore the soundness of our corporate performance in fulfillment of our investors' and stockholders' expectations. We are conscious that in order to achieve those tasks, it will be essential to work at improving safety at our nuclear power station and to restart it at an early date. In order to restart this facility, I believe three things will be of major importance: we must get through the NRA's examination, we must complete the measures required by the regulatory requirements, and we must obtain the understanding of the local people.
We applied for compliance verification of Unit 2 (commissioned 1989; 820 MW) in　December 2013, and it is currently undergoing examination by the NRA.
Going by the situation at other companies' nuclear power stations, where examinations are proceeding ahead of ours, we believe that an important aspect in the examination will be whether the standard earthquake ground motion* is determined in a sound way. There are no active faults inside the Shimane Nuclear Power Station site, but we are implementing additional surveys and data analyses concerning the power station's surroundings, and we intend to submit these to the NRA as soon as they are completed.
At the present time, the state of progress of the examination is "halfway through", and I cannot say anything definite about specifically when operation will restart. But we are moving vigorously forward with measures for enhancing safety at the site, and I take it that we are making steady headway toward operation restart.
The advanced boiling water reactor (ABWR) to be employed as Unit 3 at Shimane Nuclear Power Station is a plant with outstanding safety and reliability that was developed jointly by the government, manufacturers and power companies. It will be a mainspring of competitiveness for us as competition under liberalization of the electric power business unfolds. The equipment itself is already complete, and the pre-use inspections carried out ahead of fuel loading have all ended. Currently we are proceeding with safety enhancement measures, and also with preparations for applying for compliance verification.

*The earthquake-induced tremor size that is used as the reference value for antiseismic design of facilities and equipment.

The local people's understanding will also be essential in order to restart the nuclear power station and to make continuous use of it without any unscheduled stoppages. The following statements are made in the government's Basic Energy Plan (approved by the Cabinet in April 2014).
(a) "When the Nuclear Regulation Authority deems that the regulatory requirements are complied with, nuclear power stations will move ahead with restart."
(b) "The national government will proactively make efforts to obtain the understanding and cooperation of the local authorities and other concerned entities/persons where the power stations are sited."
At the same time that it is moving ahead with equipment-related efforts aimed at raising safety, Chugoku Electric is working to raise human-factor safety. It is doing this by, for example, effecting continual raising of employees' awareness and coping skills, in ways such as implementing drills that simulate a total loss of power sources. By giving the local people a series of respectful explanations about these efforts, we intend to progressively dispel their anxieties concerning the safety of nuclear power generation.

  • (a)"When the Nuclear Regulation Authority deems that the regulatory standards are complied with, nuclear power stations will move ahead with restart."
  • (b) "The national government will proactively make efforts to obtain the understanding and cooperation of the local authorities and other concerned entities/persons where the power stations are sited."

At the same time that it is moving ahead with equipment-related efforts aimed at raising safety, Chugoku Electric is working to raise human-factor safety. It is doing this by, for example, effecting continual raising of employees' awareness and coping skills, in ways such as implementing accident response drills. We will be giving the local people a series of respectful explanations about these efforts, and hope this will lead to gaining their understanding and confidence concerning the safety of nuclear power generation.

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