Summary of Comments Made at a Press Conference by Hiroji
Ohta, FEPC Chairman, on February 19, 2001
Today, I would like to comment on two topics: the results of the FEPC General
Policy Committee meeting held in Aomori prefecture, and electric power
demand during January.
First, concerning the FEPC General Policy Committee meetingc As most
of you know, the General Policy Committee meeting is held monthly, and
attended by the presidents of the 10 electric power companies that make
up the FEPC. The February meeting was split into two sessions, which were
held on the 15th and 16th of February in Rokkasho village and Aomori city
respectively. The sessions were held in Aomori prefecture so that we could
meet with, and hear the opinions of, those who are assisting us in the
fuel cycle development project: the governor of Aomori, the mayors of Aomori
city and Rokkasho village, construction site supervisors and area residents.
It also gave the presidents of all the companies a chance to visit the
sites and see the progress that has been made. The information gained will
be used to guide future policy planning.
On the first day, we visited the JNFL Rokkasho Reprocessing Plant construction
site and held discussions with construction company supervisory personnel.
In the evening, we met with Mayor Hashimoto of Rokkasho village. On the
second day, we held discussions with Governor Kimura before conducting
the regularly scheduled meeting.
As a result of the Aomori meetings, we were able to confirm that the various
aspects of the fuel cycle project are on track, and that construction is
proceeding smoothly.
Despite an exceptionally cold winter, construction of the reprocessing
plant is ahead of schedule, with 59% of the work completed as of December
2000. In addition, water- and steam-flow tests will soon begin in preparation
for operational testing in April. While in Aomori, we thanked site supervisors
for their efforts to ensure safety, and for persevering with construction
during the exceedingly cold winter season. We also asked for their continued
support in completing the nuclear fuel cycle project.
Having witnessed at first hand the progress that has been made, the 10
company presidents and myself expressed our gratitude to Governor Kimura
and Mayor Hashimoto, and requested their continued support in the future.
It is something that I have said many times, but for a country like our
own, which must depend on overseas sources for its energy resources, it
is important that we continue to pursue nuclear energy development. Because
only nuclear energy can assure us of a stable power supply for the future,
and allow us to address the global environmental issues we face. And in
order to secure a stable and economical supply of uranium resources over
the long term, it is particularly important for us to develop our own nuclear
fuel recycling capability. To the achievement of this goal, the electric
power industry remains firmly committed.
In the future, with the understanding of local residents, we will work
with the JNFL in a concerted effort to establish fuel cycle capability.
In this regard, I ask the members of the energy press club for their understanding
and support in the days ahead. I would now like to turn to the topic of
electric power demand during January. A bulletin on electric power sales
results for January was issued today and has been included in the handouts.
(Reference Document 1)
Sales results for January totaled 74.2 billion kWh, a solid increase of
3.8% over the same month last year.
The increase was fueled by continued growth in industrial demand, and by
lower temperatures that led to increased demand for heating. The average
temperature for January across the 10 major cities was 2.1C lower than
last year, and this led to increases of 3.5% and 5.3% for lighting and
commercial power respectively.
In addition, large industrial user demand -- a key economic indicator --
showed a January increase of 3.8%. This marks the 18th consecutive month
of growth since large industrial user demand broke out of a 19-month decline
in August 1999, and ranks second in duration only to the 19 consecutive
months of growth experienced during the so-called "Semiconductor Boom"
that lasted from July 1983 to January 1985.
As the table shown in Reference Document 1-1 reveals, large industrial
user demand increased in virtually all sectors, with non-ferrous metals
and machinery exhibiting particularly strong growth.
Based on electric power demand, therefore, it would appear that the economy
is continuing to move toward recovery. But although the figures for employment
and personal income are also fairly encouraging, personal spending continues
to lack vigor, and there are a number of other areas in which the indicators
are weak. In addition, growth is still insufficient to overcome the effects
of the 19-month downturn that ended in August 1999. I therefore believe
that we need to remain cautious about the outlook for the future, and should
keep a close watch on electric power demand trends.