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191870
Wed, 06/29/2011 - 18:56
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https://oananews.org//node/191870
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Shareholders reject antinuclear proposals at Japan utilities
OSAKA (Kyodo) - Shareholders rejected antinuclear proposals at the annual general meetings of three Japanese power utilities Wednesday following a similar development at Tokyo Electric Power Co. on Tuesday.
Some shareholders called for withdrawing from nuclear power generation in meetings for Kansai Electric Power Co., Tohoku Electric Power Co. and Chugoku Electric Power Co. amid heightened safety concerns following the Fukushima nuclear crisis, triggered by the March 11 quake and tsunami.
Their management leaders defended their nuclear power generation plans with antinuclear proposals voted down at their longest-ever shareholders' meetings.
At the Kansai Electric meeting in Osaka that lasted for four hours and 51 minutes, compared with over six hours for Tuesday's TEPCO meeting, a total of 124 shareholders urged the firm to pull out of nuclear power generation and a group of 36 shareholders proposed a switch from nuclear to renewable energy sources.
But these proposals were voted down at the meeting where a record 2,244 shareholders were present.
Following the general meeting, Makoto Yagi, president of Kansai Electric, told reporters that the utility will be able to increase its power generation capacity by a total 1.45 million kilowatts in July thanks largely to the resumption of operations by the No. 1 generator, with a capacity of 900,000 watts, at its thermal power plant in Maizuru, Kyoto, and a supply of 350,000 kw from Chugoku Electric.
But Yagi said Kansai Electric will still ask customers to cut their use of electricity by 15 percent this summer, starting Friday, from a year earlier as its supply capacity remains tight.
Commenting on Osaka Mayor Kunio Hiramatsu's call at the general meeting for Kansai Electric to withdraw from nuclear power generation, Yagi said ''Nuclear power is an important source of electricity for Japan which is short of natural resources.''
At a Tohoku Electric meeting in Sendai that lasted for four hours and seven minutes, a total of 232 shareholders proposed that the utility withdraw from nuclear power generation and stop its investment in a spent nuclear fuel reprocessing project.
But more than 90 percent of shareholders voted against the proposal, Chairman Hiroaki Takahashi said.
At a press conference following the annual meeting attended by 1,299 shareholders, President Makoto Kaiwa declared that the utility will consider seeking compensation from Tokyo Electric for the latter's failure to meet an electricity supply contract following the March disaster.
Chugoku Electric held its shareholders meeting in Hiroshima with a record 700 shareholders attending. They voted down antinuclear proposals including one calling for suspending a plan to construct the Kaminoseki nuclear plant in Yamaguchi Prefecture.
Tomohide Karita, who assumed the presidency of Chugoku Electric following the general meeting which lasted four hours and 10 minutes, told reporters that the utility's plan to start building the Kaminoseki plant in June next year may be delayed, saying that the construction schedule is likely to be reviewed.
Hokkaido Electric Power Co. and Shikoku Electric Power Co. also held shareholders' meetings Wednesday, where nuclear power generation was the most controversial topic, though with no antinuclear proposals submitted for a vote.
Some shareholders called for withdrawing from nuclear power generation in meetings for Kansai Electric Power Co., Tohoku Electric Power Co. and Chugoku Electric Power Co. amid heightened safety concerns following the Fukushima nuclear crisis, triggered by the March 11 quake and tsunami.
Their management leaders defended their nuclear power generation plans with antinuclear proposals voted down at their longest-ever shareholders' meetings.
At the Kansai Electric meeting in Osaka that lasted for four hours and 51 minutes, compared with over six hours for Tuesday's TEPCO meeting, a total of 124 shareholders urged the firm to pull out of nuclear power generation and a group of 36 shareholders proposed a switch from nuclear to renewable energy sources.
But these proposals were voted down at the meeting where a record 2,244 shareholders were present.
Following the general meeting, Makoto Yagi, president of Kansai Electric, told reporters that the utility will be able to increase its power generation capacity by a total 1.45 million kilowatts in July thanks largely to the resumption of operations by the No. 1 generator, with a capacity of 900,000 watts, at its thermal power plant in Maizuru, Kyoto, and a supply of 350,000 kw from Chugoku Electric.
But Yagi said Kansai Electric will still ask customers to cut their use of electricity by 15 percent this summer, starting Friday, from a year earlier as its supply capacity remains tight.
Commenting on Osaka Mayor Kunio Hiramatsu's call at the general meeting for Kansai Electric to withdraw from nuclear power generation, Yagi said ''Nuclear power is an important source of electricity for Japan which is short of natural resources.''
At a Tohoku Electric meeting in Sendai that lasted for four hours and seven minutes, a total of 232 shareholders proposed that the utility withdraw from nuclear power generation and stop its investment in a spent nuclear fuel reprocessing project.
But more than 90 percent of shareholders voted against the proposal, Chairman Hiroaki Takahashi said.
At a press conference following the annual meeting attended by 1,299 shareholders, President Makoto Kaiwa declared that the utility will consider seeking compensation from Tokyo Electric for the latter's failure to meet an electricity supply contract following the March disaster.
Chugoku Electric held its shareholders meeting in Hiroshima with a record 700 shareholders attending. They voted down antinuclear proposals including one calling for suspending a plan to construct the Kaminoseki nuclear plant in Yamaguchi Prefecture.
Tomohide Karita, who assumed the presidency of Chugoku Electric following the general meeting which lasted four hours and 10 minutes, told reporters that the utility's plan to start building the Kaminoseki plant in June next year may be delayed, saying that the construction schedule is likely to be reviewed.
Hokkaido Electric Power Co. and Shikoku Electric Power Co. also held shareholders' meetings Wednesday, where nuclear power generation was the most controversial topic, though with no antinuclear proposals submitted for a vote.
