Utilities, struggling amid the prolonged halt of nearly all of the nation's nuclear reactors, expressed eagerness to restart their facilities during shareholders meetings Wednesday, shrugging off proposals from some stockholders to halt the country's reliance on atomic power.

Tokyo Electric Power Co. was among the utilities pushing for the restart of idled reactors in a bid to turn its business amid the devastating nuclear disaster at its Fukushima No. 1 nuclear complex that started in 2011.

Anti-nuclear shareholders proposed scrapping Tepco's Kashiwazaki-Kariwa plant in Niigata Prefecture, which was not damaged by the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami. However, Tepco said the complex remained an "important power source," and that the utility would take measures to improve safety there in an effort to resume operations.