Tokyo Electric Power plans to restart the 1,100MW No.1 nuclear at its quake-hit Kashiwazaki-Kariwa plant after receiving approval from three local authorities.

Asia’s largest utility said in a statement it had received approval from the city of Kashiwazaki, the village of Kariwa and Niigata Prefecture to begin restart tests on the unit.

Last year, the company restarted the No.6 and No.7 units at the plant, the world’s largest nuclear plant, marking a resumption of operations after the earthquake forced the plant to close in July 2007, reports Reuters.