ON, had been threatening to sue the government over the levy even before the nuclear power shutdown plan was announced.

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They are clamoring for a complete shutdown of nuclear power generation.

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It said Tepco staff at the plant were not trained to handle emergencies like the power shutdown that struck when the tsunami destroyed back-up generators, AP news agency reported.

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The twin disasters resulted in various nuclear power plants being shutdown.

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But for the most part, large power plants cannot shutdown for just one hour as there are thermal and mechanical concerns that put the plant at risk of being damaged for doing so.

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Microsoft denies that Windows Me's power management enhancements may contribute to the shutdown problem.

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In the meantime, vendors suggest turning off power management, which turns off the Windows Me automatic shutdown feature.

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The situation has evolved slowly but in a manner that was not anticipated by designers who had not assumed that electrical power to run emergency pumps would be unavailable for days after the shutdown.

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It could be a long wait, says the BBC's Roland Buerk in Tokyo, as the plant's operator, Tokyo Electric Power Co (Tepco), has said it aims to bring the reactors to a cold shutdown within nine months.

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