Japan's Shikoku Electric says to delay nuclear reactor restart after court order

FILE PHOTO: Shikoku Electric Power's Ikata nuclear plant pictured by the ocean in Ikata, Japan, Oct. 2, 2018. REUTERS/Mari Saito

TOKYO (Reuters) - Japanese utility Shikoku Electric Power Co said on Friday it had been ordered by a Hiroshima court to suspend operations of its only operable nuclear reactor, the No.3 unit at its Ikata plant in western Japan.

The reactor had been shut for regular maintenance work since late December and was likely to restart within a couple of months, but must now remain idled pending an appeal. Shares in the company, which didn't disclose the court's reason for issuing its order, plunged on the news, ending the day down 6%.