Japan

Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant remained stable afetr a 5.5 magnitude offshore earthquake that recently hit the surrounding area, according to operator TEPCO.

Kansai Electric has bought liquefied natural gas from Norway for the first time, according to a source of Reuters.

Hokkaido Electric pledged to continue to give up to 300 megawatts of surplus power to quake-hit Tohoku Electric Power until the end of November, at a time many of Tohoku's nuclear and fossil fuel plants remain shut.

After the shutdown of Genkai nuclear plant only 10 reactors in Japan with a capacity of 8,684 MW are currently generating electricity, leaving just 17.7 percent of the nation's total nuclear power capacity in use.

Kyushu Electric revealed the 1,180-megawatt No.4 reactor at its Genkai nuclear plant shut down automatically  following a problem with the unit's cooling system. The utility has been checking the cause of the trouble, a company spokesman said, adding that it did not know immediately whether the shutdown would have an impact on stable power supplies to its customers.

According to Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda, nuclear power could play an essential role for the country that could last for decades.

Chubu Electric Power would join other utilities in Japan in asking its customers to keep saving power this winter due to lack of enough surplus to meet peak-hour demand.

The average run rate was 66.7% a year ago, according to Reuters.

Former Japanese prime minister Naoto Kan concluded in March that nuclear power was no longer worth the risk after the world's worst nuclear accident in 25 years. His successor seems less convinced. Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda's month-old government let a panel of experts begin debate on Japan's energy policy on Monday, but Noda has already signaled that nuclear power could play a role for decades. Six months after an earthquake and tsunami crippled the Fukushima plant, which is still leaking radiation, critics say powerful pro-nuclear interests are quietly fighting back. "It's been a real bad year for the 'nuclear village' but I don't think they are down and out," said Jeffrey Kingston, Director of Asian Studies at Temple University's Japan campus, referring to the utilities, lawmakers and regulators who long promoted atomic power as safe, clean and cheap. Public concern about safety leapt after the Fukushima accident, which forced 80,000 people from their homes and sparked fears about food and water supply. Some 70 percent of voters polled in July backed Kan's call to phase out nuclear plants. A series of scandals in which regulators and power companies tried to sway hearings on reactors has also dented public trust. Noda has acknowledged that public safety concerns will make it tough to build new reactors, but on Friday stopped short of saying atomic power would play no role at all by 2050. He said decisions on reactors already under construction would have to be made "case-by-case." The panel is led by the chairman of steel industry giant Nippon Steel Corp, a heavy user of electricity and considered partial to nuclear power, but also includes those opposed to atomic energy. Public safety fears remain high. Tens of thousands rallied in Tokyo last month urging an end to nuclear power, a hefty showing in a country where taking to the streets is rare. Their concerns include how to deal with increasing nuclear waste, such as the Fukushima reactors. Japan, the world's third-biggest nuclear generator, has postponed a decision on where to build a nuclear waste repository. The operator of the crippled reactors, Tokyo Electric Power Co, faces a huge compensation bill, estimated at 4.5 trillion yen ($58 billion) for the two years through March 2013 alone, and will need funds from a government-backed scheme to stay solvent. The government, analysts say, has made clear it views Tokyo Electric as too big to fail. "That rickety scheme, though it is not explicit, would see the monopoly maintained and nuclear plants continue to be used," said Andrew DeWit, a Rikkyo University professor who writes about energy policy. Yet Trade Minister Yukio Edano, who was chief cabinet secretary for former leader Kan and now oversees energy policy, said on Monday the panel should take into account a change in public views for atomic power. "The debate should not start from the current status but rather show what the country should be in the future, then discuss how it can quickly approach there," he told the panel. Reuters.

Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda's month-old government begins debate on Japan's energy policy, but Noda has already signalled that nuclear power could play a role for decades. Six months after the world's worst radiation crisis in 25 years erupted at the tsunami-crippled Fukushima plant, critics say powerful pro-nuclear interests are quietly fighting back. "It's been a real bad year for the 'nuclear village' but I don't think they are down and out," said Jeffrey Kingston, Director of Asian Studies at Temple University's Japan campus, referring to the nexus of utilities, lawmakers and regulators who long promoted atomic power as safe, clean and cheap. Public concern about safety leapt after the Fukushima accident, which forced 80,000 people from their homes and sparked fears about food and water supplies. Some 70 percent of voters polled in July backed Nato Kan's call to phase out nuclear plants. A series of scandals in which regulators and power companies tried to sway hearings on reactors has also dented public trust. In an effort to tap in to that sentiment, Kan floated ambitious targets for renewable energy and embraced a future without nuclear power. He promised an overhaul of a government plan approved last year to build 14 new reactors and raise the share of nuclear power in Japan's electricity mix to 53 percent by 2030 from about a third prior to the Fukushima accident. "It chilled me to the bone every waking moment of each day," he told his last news conference as premier of the battle to contain the disaster. "How should we deal with the risk that nuclear power might cause our country to perish? This question is what led me to propose the creation of a society free from dependence on nuclear power." Noda, in contrast, has acknowledged that public safety concerns will make it tough to build new reactors, but on Friday stopped short of saying atomic power would play no role at all by 2050. He said decisions on reactors already under construction would have to be made "case-by-case". He was also vague about the criteria that an advisory panel, which will make recommendations on a new energy plan by next summer, should use in reaching its conclusions. "Naturally, we are aiming at the best energy mix that can allay the concerns of the citizens about safety," Noda told a news conference.

Tokyo Electric Power Co expects to be able to supply 53,000 megawatts of power this winter, around 6 percent of a meet projected peak demand of about 50,000 MW., reports Reuters.

E Hitachi told nuclear operators to conduct tests to determine what conditions would prevent the reactors from shutting safely during an earth quake.

Tohoku Electric Power Co aims to accept more than triple the capacity of wind power to its grid at 2 gigawatts by 2020.

Tokyo Electric will prioritize thermal coal due to its relative cheapness, followed by liquefied natural gas and fuel oil. "We're trying to cut procurement costs," said Takashi Fujimoto, Tepco vice president.

The Japanese government and Tepco said that they are now aiming to bring the Fukushima Daiichi plant to a cold shutdown within this year, instead of by January as initially planned.

The companies will mutually promote new combined-cycle power plants for projects in Japan, and other Asian countries as well.