Chubu Electric plans to abandon nuclear plant restart in wake of data scandal

NAGOYA – Chubu Electric Power is planning to withdraw its application to restart the No. 3 and No. 4 reactors of its Hamaoka nuclear power plant in Shizuoka Prefecture, following a scandal over the cherry-picking of earthquake risk data, it was learned Friday.

Regarding the scandal, Chubu Electric said the same day that it had received a report from an investigative committee of external lawyers. The company will hold a news conference on Monday that its president, Kingo Hayashi, will attend.

The company said that the scandal’s impact on its earnings has not yet been determined.

At a news conference on Friday, industry minister Ryosei Akazawa said that he had not learned the details of the report.

“Based on Chubu Electric’s response to our reporting order, we will take as strict action as possible,” Akazawa noted.

In the scandal, Chubu Electric is suspected of underestimating possible earthquake vibrations during the Nuclear Regulation Authority’s screening for the restart of the Hamaoka reactors.

Additionally, the company has been found to have attempted a cover-up even after the secretariat of the authority began investigating the matter in May last year.