A fire on 14 March resulted in the temporary closure of Kansai Electric Power's 1.8GW coal- and biomass-fired power generation plant at Maizuru in Japan, reported Argus Media.
The fire took place at 21:52 Japan time (12:52 GMT) on 14 March at a facility that delivers wood pellets to boilers.
Kansai was therefore forced to suspend operations of the 900MW No.2 unit at 01:25 on 15 March, according to a power plant operational status notice by the Japan Electric Power Exchange. The 900MW No.1 unit was off line for maintenance works from 1 March-22 July, when the fire hit the plant.
The fire had been fully extinguished by 08:26 on 15 March. Kansai is investigating the cause of the fire and it is still unclear when will the two units be brought back on line.
The unexpected capacity loss at Maizuru would not adversely affect power supplies in Kansai's service area, as electricity demand is expected to weaken in line with a seasonal rise in temperatures.
Fire suspends operation at Kansai biomass plant
