TEPCO edges closer to restarting 2nd nuclear reactor

TOKYO, June 22 (Reuters) - Japan's Tokyo Electric Power Co (TEPCO) (9501.T) inched closer to restarting a second reactor in the world's biggest nuclear plant after an operation-suspension order was lifted on Monday.

The decision by the city of Kashiwazaki in northwest Japan marked the beginning of the final phase before restarting the No.6 unit at the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa plant, shut since a major earthquake in July 2007.

TEPCO still needs the consent of local governments and the central government before it is allowed to conduct restart tests on the 1,356-megawatt No.6 generator, which would cut the firm's fuel imports and carbon emissions.

The plant has seven nuclear generators with a total capacity of 8.21 gigawatts. If the restart of the No.6 unit is approved, a third of the nuclear plant's capacity will be back online.

The same suspension order was lifted on the plant's No.7 reactor in early February, and the central government backed its restart later that month. But due to a delay in getting a local governor's approval, TEPCO could not restart the unit until early May.

The No.7 unit is currently operating at full capacity. (Reporting by Osamu Tsukimori; Editing by Joseph Radford)