Japan

Shikoku Electric Power Co shut the gas-fired 296-megawatt No.1 unit at Sakaide plant due to worries over a steam leak from a boiler tube.

Japan and five Mekong River countries will focus on cross-border energy security cooperation in light of power shortages in some parts of the Southeast Asian region.

Japan will set up a new nuclear regulatory agency under the Environment Ministry instead of the trade ministry.   This is meant to increase the body's independence after the country’s atomic disaster, officials said. Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano said the Cabinet was expected to approve the plan by Monday. The current Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency has been widely criticised for cosy ties with the nuclear industry under the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, which promotes nuclear energy. “We expect to make the agency an affiliate of the Environment Agency,” Edano said. “Environment and nuclear issues have a certain affinity for each other.” Under the plan, drafted by Goshi Hosono, minister in charge of the nuclear crisis, NISA would be integrated with the Nuclear Safety Commission, an independent panel of experts under the Cabinet Office, to become a more independent entity distanced from the nuclear industry and other promoters of atomic power.

Japan decided exporting nuclear power generation technology after reviewing its policy.

Tohoku Electric Power has received an additional 300MW out of the expected 1,100 from Tokyo Electric Power  to avoid rolling blackouts and meet the increasing demands.

Fuel inside one of the reactors at the nuclear complex in Fukushima Prefecture has possibly breached the vessel after melting again at the bottom, according to a study.

A natural gas-fired thermal plant will be built in Tokyo by the city government.

Japan plans to set up a new atomic safety regulator under the Environment Ministry by merging the Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency with another government advisory body.

A natural gas-fired thermal plant will be built in Tokyo by the city government.   Tokyo Governor Shintaro Ishihara said that the local government will get the help of private funding including foreign investment, as the capital faces uncertainty over future power supply. Construction of the plant is estimated to cost around JPY50 billion or $640 million and will be built and operated by a private sector on a site offered by the local government. The power generated from the plant will be equal to one nuclear plant.

J-Power has closed two thermal power plants due to a steam leak and a problem with a transformer.

Turkey resumed discussing a potential with Toshiba and TEPCO to build the country's second nuclear plant in Sinop.

A natural gas-fired thermal plant will be built in Tokyo by the city government.

Chubu Electric is in talks to acquire 98MW of hydro power plants from the state government of Mie Prefecture for JPY10.5bn or $135 million.

Chugoku Electric Power resumed operation at the trouble-hit Misumi thermal plant in Shimane Prefecture.

Tokyo Electric Power Co. will procure 3.1 million tons of liquefied natural gas each year from an offshore gas field in northwestern Australia for up to 20 years beginning 2007.

Hokuriku Electric Power will build a liquefied natural gas-fueled power generation facility in Imizu, Toyama Prefecture.