Kansai Electric Power Co., which serves the Osaka region in western Japan, plans to decommission two oil-burning power generation units at its Gobo plant in Wakayama Prefecture by around June 2026, a source familiar with the plan said Thursday.
The move is part of the utility’s cost-cutting efforts targeting little-used equipment that remains on its balance sheets. One of the oil-burning generators has not worked since April 2019 due to equipment failure.
During the business year through last March, oil-burning power generation accounted for less than 0.1 percent of the company’s energy portfolio, whereas nuclear power made up 48 percent.
The two units to be decommissioned are capable of producing a combined output of 1.2 million kilowatts of electricity.
Kansai Electric has a third unit at the plant, which would be the last oil-burning unit under its care. The source said it will also consider what to do with the remaining unit.
The company has acknowledged that it is considering decommissioning the two units, adding that a decision will be announced as soon as it is made.
==Kyodo
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