Mutsu City Interim Storage Facility Presents New Plan with KEPCO and Tohoku Electric Power Participating

On the 18th, Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings (HD) and Japan Atomic Power Company, which are investors in the interim storage facility in Mutsu City, Aomori Prefecture, which temporarily stores spent nuclear fuel from nuclear power plants, presented a new plan to the local government in which Kansai Electric Power and Tohoku Electric Power will participate in transporting nuclear fuel. Prefectures and cities will now decide whether to accept them.

On this day, TEPCO President Tomoaki Kobayakawa and JAPANESE President Mamoru Muramatsu met with Aomori Prefecture's Vice Governor Kei Ota and Mayor Tomoya Yamamoto. Since TEPCO and Nuclear Power alone would not be able to deliver the 5,000 tons of nuclear fuel that was initially planned over the medium to long term, the company proposed an ``inter-operator collaboration'' to accept nuclear fuel from Kansai Electric Power and Tohoku Electric.

The new plan will secure a total of 5,000 tons, including 3,500 tons from TEPCO and 900 tons from JAPC, as well as 500 tons from Kansai Electric Power and 100 tons from Tohoku Electric. Kansai Electric Power and Tohoku Electric Power Co. will begin importing the fuel from around 2028, with the aim of achieving a total import volume of 5,000 tons by the early 1950s.

Mutsu City taxes spent nuclear fuel, and a reduction in the amount brought in will lead to a reduction in tax revenue. For this reason, there are calls on the local side to secure the amount brought in through cooperation between business operators. On the other hand, the facility's location agreement does not assume that anyone other than TEPCO and JAPC will bring in nuclear fuel, and the understanding of the prefecture and city is essential for collaboration between the companies.

President Kobayakawa explained, ``Collaboration between businesses will not affect safety. We will take appropriate measures to ensure that new entrants also comply with the 50-year storage period stipulated in the location agreement.''

Mayor Yamamoto said, ``We will make a decision immediately...''