Japan Utilities Seen Pushing for Atomic Restarts as Reform Looms
- Utilities that restart reactors may have cost advantage
- As many as 28 reactors will restart by end of 2017: BNEF
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Japan’s opening of its power market is pressuring utilities to get nuclear plants back on line quickly to bolster finances in the face of potentially greater competition, according to Bloomberg New Energy Finance.
When Japan’s retail power market fully liberalizes in April, utilities that have nuclear power plants online, like Kansai Electric Power Co., will have an economic advantage, according to Miho Kurosaki, a Tokyo-based analyst with BNEF. Nuclear power is the cheapest form of electricity generation, allowing producers to cut rates and edge out new entrants and old rivals.