Kyushu Electric Power Co. has submitted a plan to the Nuclear Regulation Authority to restart the No. 1 reactor at its Sendai power plant in Kagoshima Prefecture in June, sources close to the matter said Thursday.
It's the first time a schedule for restarting a reactor has been disclosed since a set of tougher nuclear safety requirements were introduced in the wake of the 2011 nuclear disaster at Tepco's wrecked Fukushima No. 1 plant.
As the utility will have to arrange a schedule with the authority for a pre-operation test of instruments and equipment at the plant, the schedule for restarting the reactor may change.
According to the report submitted to the regulatory authority, the utility plans to begin the pre-operation test in late March, restart the reactor in June and complete the test in August to begin commercial operations.
Japan's 48 commercial reactors were all gradually taken offline following the triple meltdown at Tepco's Fukushima No. 1 power plant, which was crippled by the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami.