Tokyo Electric Power Co. briefly suspended fuel removal at Fukushima Daiichi unit 4 this week when its spent fuel cooling system went offline for several hours. Meanwhile, Japanese politicians are considering an energy plan that keeps nuclear power in the mix; and an evacuation order lifted for the first time in a restricted area near the plant.Recent developments related to the TEPCO reactors blacked out following Japan's 2011 earthquake and tsunami include:Unit 4 SPF Cooling InterruptedFuel Removal at unit 4 stopped at 10:19 a.m., Tuesday, for about four hours when excavation near the unit damaged a cable powering its spent fuel pool cooling system. According to a TEPCO release, there was no meaningful rise in the SFP water temperature, and fuel removal restarted shortly after power was restored. TEPCO noted it had removed 374 of the 1,533 fuel assemblies in the SFP as of Monday.Energy Plan to Include NuclearA draft energy plan announced Tuesday reconfirmed reactors' future in the Japanese electric market as an "important base-load power source," Kyodo and other outlets reported. The plan seeks to restart units idled since the Fukushima accidents. While the government aims to reduce its reliance on nuclear power, the document also omits a policy of the country's previous prime minister to phase out the technology. Town Sees Evacuation Order Lifted In April, the government will lift an evacuation order for an area within 20 kilometers of the plant for the first time since the accidents. The Asahi Shimbun reported Monday that residents of a portion of the Miyakoji district of Tamura will be allowed to move back in. That area was home to about 360 people. Decontamination work there finished in June, and residents have since been allowed to visit for several weeks at a time. The government will consider lifting evacuation orders in six other communities over the next two years, affecting about 30,000 evacuees.
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