Chubu Electric Power admitted to manipulating seismic data

Chubu Electric Power has confirmed that it intentionally manipulated seismic motion data used to establish the basis for standard earthquake motion at its Hamaoka Nuclear Power Plant. Following an internal investigation, the company reported the findings to the Nuclear Regulation Authority.

The misconduct was brought to light through whistleblower reports rather than regulatory inspections. Internal reports regarding the data issues were allegedly suppressed as early as October 2019, despite being reported to company leadership. This has raised significant concerns regarding the effectiveness of the Nuclear Regulation Authority’s review process, which relies heavily on the scientific integrity and honesty of the data submitted by utility companies.