Fukushima Daiichi NPS Prompt Report 2017

TOKYO, Jan. 30-TEPCO Holdings "has attained a certain level of achievement as a whole," and "the principles of Nuclear Safety Reform have been embodied in the organization," according to the independent committee that reviewed the company's self-assessment of its progress in implementing the Nuclear Safety Reform Plan.

"We are pleased to see that TEPCO Holdings undertook this self-assessment in depth and with great seriousness," said Nuclear Reform Monitoring Committee Chairman Dale Klein, former chairman of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission. "The results of the report are encouraging, and indicate significant progress along with areas where more progress is needed."

The Committee's Deputy Chairman, Lady Barbara Judge, said, "It is now important that TEPCO Holdings implement the improvements that the self-assessment identified as necessary, and that it employ self-assessment on a continuing basis so that it does not become complacent." Lady Judge is Chairman Emeritus of the United Kingdom's Atomic Energy Authority.

Findings and Recommendations

The Nuclear Reform Monitoring Committee, the international group overseeing TEPCO Holdings' implementation of its Nuclear Safety Reform Plan, first received the company's draft report on its self-assessment last September, and this time, with the assistance of a nuclear expert, reviewed the full report and evaluated the detailed findings.

The Committee is releasing its report on the self-assessment in conjunction with its regular meeting in Tokyo. Overall, it said, the company is moving in the right direction but needs to avoid complacency and ensure that safety-along with the peace of mind that safety produces -- remains the top priority. Based on the findings in the self-assessment report, the Committee noted particular improvements in a number of areas, including:

  ·Emphasis by management on safety
  ·Effectiveness of the company's new Nuclear Safety Oversight Office
  ·Emergency preparedness 
  ·Communication with communities and other stakeholders
  ·Integration of the principle of "as low as reasonably achievable" to reduce radiation levels at Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station.

The Committee's recommendations include:

  ·Continue efforts to instill safety culture throughout the organization
  ·Improve training of managers 
  ·Take steps to ensure that safety culture extends to contractors
  ·Strengthen internal safety communications as well as communications with external stakeholders, in part by benchmarking TEPCO Holdings' performance with that of nuclear operators around the world.

In performing its review of TEPCO Holdings' self-assessment, the Committee was assisted by Randall Edington, former Executive Vice President and Chief Nuclear Officer of Arizona Public Service, in the United States.

The Committee’s full report can be found at　http://www.nrmc.jp/en/report/detail/1369301_5233.html
The self-assessment report can be found at http://www.tepco.co.jp/en/press/corp-com/release/2017/1368951_10469.html

About TEPCO Group
Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings, Inc. (TEPCO Holdings) is Japan's largest power company group, holding three independent business entities: TEPCO Fuel & Power, Inc., TEPCO Power Grid, Inc., and TEPCO Energy Partner, Inc. As a group, it generates, distributes, and sells electricity and other types of energy principally to the Kanto metropolitan area, which includes Japan's two most populous cities, Tokyo and Yokohama. Its 33,000 employees are committed to providing safe, reliable power to its 29 million customers as well as fulfilling its responsibilities to the communities of Fukushima. (As of April 1, 2016)
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