Japan's trade ministry said it would approve on Wednesday a revival plan for the utility responsible for the Fukushima nuclear disaster, Tokyo Electric Power Co, its second attempt at restoring battered finances, Reuters reported. The plan hinges on Tokyo Electric (Tepco) restarting its Kashiwazaki Kariwa nuclear plant to cut fossil fuel costs, a contentious issue staunchly opposed by the local governor. An earlier plan by Tepco outlining a revival after its Fukushima plant was hit by a massive earthquake and tsunami in 2011, triggering triple meltdowns at the site, had to be torn up because it could not restart Kashiwazaki. Japan's trade minister Toshimitsu Motegi is scheduled to meet Tepco president at 1700 JST on Wednesday to officially approve the plan. Tepco is also pledging to cut costs by reducing fuel spending and forming partnerships with other utilities, as well as upgrading fossil fuel plants, the Nikkei newspaper reported on Wednesday. The company is majority owned by the government after an earlier bailout. Tepco's previous revival plan revolved around a Kashiwazaki restart in early 2013. The new plan envisages a restart of two reactors at the station in July and the utility hopes all seven reactors will go online by fiscal 2016.
