Osaka City to seek sale of Kansai Electric Power stake

The Osaka Municipal Government has announced plans to sell its shares of Kansai ElectricPower Co., operator of the Ohi nuclear plant located in western Japan.

According to the city's statement, Osaka City seeks to sell its shares to comply with a policy calling for less reliance on investment income. The sale proposal is expected to be presented on 21 November. The Osaka city council is set to hold a vote on 9 December 2014.

Osaka City, the Kansai ElectricPower ’s biggest shareholder, holds 9.37 percent stake in the asset.

According to the Kansai Electric website, the company has reported in a statement that it is not in a position to comment on the sale of its shares.

The nuclear plant is located about 95 kilometers from Osaka in an area of 1.88 km². The plant is close to the Lake Biwa, which supplies the city and other municipalities with drinking water. The nuclear plant serves 13.5 million customers.

On 19 March 2013 the Nuclear Regulation Authority (NRA) announced that it would check the power plant on the site according to the new safety standards, before their introduction in July 2013, in order to keep the plant in operation. The NRA expected that the No. 3 and 4 reactors at the Oi plant would be able to clear most of the new safety standards.

On 3 September 2013, the No. 3 reactor at the Ohi nuclear power plant was shut down. On 15 September 2013, the no. 4 Ohi-reactor closed down, leaving Japan without any nuclear power for the third time in 40 years. Later in May 2014 the Fukui District Court rules that it will not allow the restart of the Ohi no.3 and no.4 reactors.