TOKYO (Reuters) – Japan’s Hokkaido Electric Power and Chugoku Electric Power said on Thursday they had booked extraordinary profits for the April-September period from selling previously acquired nuclear fuel.
Neither utility has been able to restart any nuclear power plants since the 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster which prompted stricter safety standards in Japan.
Hokkaido Electric booked a special profit of 19 billion yen ($124 million) for the six months ended Sept. 30 by selling nuclear fuel acquired through long-term contracts.
It began selling some of its fuel in the 2021 fiscal year, booking extraordinary gains of 5.7 billion yen in 2022 and 3.3 billion yen in 2023, according to a company official.
“We’ve started selling the fuel as nuclear power has been re-evaluated globally and resource prices have risen,” the official told reporters, declining to name the buyers.
Chugoku Electric recorded a 12.1 billion yen special profit from nuclear fuel sales in the April-September period, stating that the initiative, begun last year, aims to strengthen its financial base.
Earlier this week, Tohoku Electric Power resumed the operation of the No.2 reactor at its Onagawa nuclear power plant in northern Japan for the first time in over 13 years.
Many Japanese utilities are still going through a re-licensing process to comply with the stricter safety rules.
Chugoku Electric plans to restart the No.2 reactor at its Shimane nuclear power station later this year while Hokkaido Electric is proceeding with a review process to restart its Tomari nuclear power station, though the timing remains uncertain.
($1 = 152.6800 yen)
(Reporting by Yuka Obayashi; Editing by Kirsten Donovan)
