Tokyo Electric Power Company (Tepco) announced that an alert system failed to activate during a test operation for restarting the No. 6 reactor at its Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear plant. The issue was detected on Friday, raising concerns about the planned restart on Tuesday.
Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings (Tepco) revealed on Saturday that an alert system malfunctioned during a test operation on the previous day for the restart of the No. 6 reactor at its Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear plant in Niigata Prefecture. The system is intended to activate when a control rod is withdrawn from the reactor while another rod is already out.
The issue was confirmed at 12:36 p.m., prompting an immediate halt to the test. Tepco is investigating the cause, noting that any delay in resolution could jeopardize the reactor's scheduled restart on Tuesday. This would mark the first restart of a Tepco nuclear reactor since the March 2011 accident at the tsunami-damaged Fukushima No. 1 plant.
The malfunction revives concerns over nuclear safety protocols. Tepco is conducting a thorough probe and preparing reports for regulatory authorities.
