The largest coal-fired power plant in Hokkaido restarted one of its three units Wednesday, almost two weeks after the complex was damaged by a powerful earthquake that rocked the island and triggered a prefecture-wide blackout.
The restart of the No. 1 unit at Hokkaido Electric Power Co.'s Tomato-Atsuma plant, which provided about half the prefecture's electricity, eased worries over a future power crisis following the complete power outage triggered by the Sept. 6 quake.
"The output fluctuates depending on demand but (the No. 1 unit) can now generate up to 350,000 kilowatts," a public relations official of the utility said.