TEPCO seeks local govts' OK on nuclear unit restart

TOKYO, July 3 (Reuters) - Tokyo Electric Power Co (TEPCO) (9501.T) said it would request approval from three local governments on Friday to restart the second nuclear generator at its quake-hit nuclear plant in northern Japan.

The Nuclear Safety Commission of Japan the day before gave its permission for the restart, and the Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency under the trade ministry granted its approval earlier in the week.

But TEPCO, Asia's biggest utility, still needs consent from three local authorities -- the city of Kashiwazaki, the village of Kariwa and Niigata Prefecture -- to restart the No. 6 1,356-megawatt generator at its Kashiwazaki-Kariwa plant.

TEPCO in May restarted the facility's 1,356-MW No.7 reactor, which is currently generating electricity at full capacity.

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.

TEPCO said senior company officials would visit the three regional governments later in the day. (Reporting by Osamu Tsukimori)