1 Mar (NucNet): An investigation has begun after the Takahama-4 nuclear reactor unit in Fukui prefecture, southwestern Japan, shut down automatically yesterday in response to alarms indicating a main transformer or generator internal failure and a potential transformer failure, Kansai Electric Power Company (Kepco) said.
Takahama-4 was restarted on 26 February 2016 in preparation for a return to full commercial operation at the end of March 2016. Kepco said the turbine, generator and reactor were all in stable shutdown and there was no radioactive release.
The company said today that an initial visual inspection of the main components had revealed “no abnormal conditions”.
Last week Takahama-3 resumed commercial operation, making it the third reactor in Japan to return to service since new regulatory standards were introduced following the March 2011 Fukushima-Daiichi accident.
Takahama-1 and Takahama-2 have been approved as compatible with the new regulatory standards, but have yet to be restarted.
There are four PWR units at the Takahama nuclear station.
