Hokkaido governor set to OK restart of Japan's newest reactor at Tomari

The Hokkaido governor is set to approve the restart of Japan’s newest reactor at the Tomari nuclear power plant, judging it to be an unavoidable step to cope with higher electricity demand, a source close to the matter said Wednesday.

The No. 3 unit at the Tomari plant, operated by Hokkaido Electric Power Co, has cleared safety screenings by the nuclear regulator. Its operations have been suspended since May 2012, one year after the Fukushima nuclear disaster.

According to the source, Naomichi Suzuki’s decision reflects rising electricity demand in Hokkaido and the utility’s announcement that it intends to lower power rates by about 11 percent for average households and around 7 percent for businesses after the restart.

Suzuki is expected to address the issue during the general questioning session of the Hokkaido assembly scheduled to begin on Friday. The No. 3 reactor started operating in December 2009.

The leaders of two municipalities around the nuclear plant have signaled their willingness to support the resumption, saying that while safety must come first, it would be desirable to move forward together with the Hokkaido government.

In Japan, electricity demand is likely to surge as artificial intelligence data centers expand, driven by the growing power required for data processing and cooling. The concentration of centers in urban areas has also become an increasingly serious issue.

Earlier this month, the Niigata governor approved the restart of two nuclear reactors at the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa power plant, the first for its operator Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings Inc. since the 2011 Fukushima accident, one of the world’s worst nuclear crises.