Kyushu, which has been in economic loss for the past four years,...

Kyushu, which has been in economic loss for the past four years, said the Sendai 1 restart would help it reduce costs incurred from burning fossil fuels by about $60m a month.

The firm, which supplies energy to seven prefectures on Japan’s south-western island, plans to also restart the 890-megawatt Sendai 2 reactor this autumn.

With both reactors operating, Kyushu will save about 15 billion yen ($122.24m) in fuel costs per month.

Kyushu’s spokesman Tomomitsu Sakata said the savings would come mainly from using less oil and LNG.

The reactors will generate about 1.3 billion kilowatt hours of power per month when fully operational, Sakata said, without giving further details.

Kyushu Electric's shares closed 6.3 per cent higher on Tuesday, tracking gains in other utilities.
Nuclear power operators in Japan considering the restart of their facilities had to implement new safety measures requested by Japan’s Nuclear Regulation Authority.