Tepco and Tohoku Power companies are re-starting idled coal-fired power stations in Fukushima prefecture. There is no mention in this article of the costs or the possible effects on price. Nuclear is cheaper than coal, after all.
TOKYO Nikkei–Tokyo Electric Power Co. 9501, known as Tepco, and Tohoku Electric Power Co. 9506 plan to restart offline fossil-fuel power generators and boost their combined output capacity by 1.25 million kilowatts by the end of the year. Their jointly owned coal-fired power plant in Soma, Fukushima prefecture, has two generators, both of which have remained offline since the March 11 disaster.
… By next summer, the full 2 million kilowatts of capacity is expected to return …
At the two utilities’ jointly owned fossil-fuel plant in Nakoso, Fukushima Prefecture, one 250,000kw coal-fired generator is slated to resume operations by the end of the year after having remained idle due to the impact of the March calamity. And a oil-fired unit that has been suspended since before March will likely start generating power again next summer, adding 175,000kw.
… the government has ordered large-scale customers of Tepco and Tohoku Electric to reduce maximum power usage 15% this summer from a year earlier. By returning idled generators to service and seeking voluntary reductions in power usage, the two utilities are hoping to avoid implementing mandatory usage cuts this winter.
via 2011/09/02 02:00 – Tepco, Tohoku Elec To Revive Idle Fossil-Fuel Plants.
