information about Fukushima published in English in Japanese media info publiée en anglais dans la presse japonaise
19 Juillet 2012
July 19, 2012
Kyodo
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/nn20120719x1.html#.UAgsGqBIwpU
The government said Thursday it will order Tokyo Electric Power Co. to trim its rate hike for households to an average of 8.47 percent from its planned 10.28 percent after determining the utility can further reduce salaries to limit the additional cost burden on consumers.
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The rate hike, to take effect Sept. 1, along with the planned injection of ¥1 trillion in public funds, is considered essential for Tepco to overcome its financial plight stemming from the disaster at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant.
Noting that Tepco will be asked to reduce by about ¥83 billion the total costs it initially planned to pass on to customers, Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry Yukio Edano said, "After confirming that Tepco has revised its application (on the rate hike) as ordered, I will give permission."
Under the revised figures, a standard household using 290 kwh a month will see its monthly bill rise by about ¥360 starting with September. In August, the power bill for the average household is expected to be about ¥7,200. A 10.28 percent hike would have raised the payment by ¥479, according to METI.
In line with the revised cost calculation, Edano said that the average hike of 16.7 percent for corporate customers, which was implemented in April, will be lowered to less than 15 percent. Raising power bills for companies does not need government permission.
The revised corporate rates will apply from the first month that each business began paying under the rate hike. Businesses that have already paid under the current amount will have their rates adjusted.
Utilities are allowed to pass on to household customers the costs that are needed to provide power, such as fuel and personnel expenses, and a certain level of "business return," which is used for such purposes as interest payments. But raising electricity rates requires the approval of the industry minister.
Because Tepco is struggling due to increasing fuel costs for thermal power generation to make up for the halt in nuclear power because of the Fukushimadisaster, it initially submitted a plan to Edano on May 11 to raise rates by an average of 10.28 percent.
But following the screening process, the government decided to get Tepco to reduce annual salaries of employees in management posts by 31 percent, rather than the planned 26 percent cut, taking into account what other companies have done after receiving injections of public funds, such as Resona Bank.
The government will also urge Tepco to cut procurement costs further, such as by accelerating its plan to introduce more competitive bidding for acquiring fuel.
As for the depreciation costs for reactor 5 and 6 at the Fukushima No. 1 complex and the reactors 1 through 4 at the nearby Fukushima No. 2 plant, the government said that passing the expenses onto customers "cannot be helped" as the utility has not decided to scrap the reactors.
Tepco has so far decided to decommission reactors 1 through 4 at Fukushima No. 1, which were all severely damaged by the March 2011 quake and tsunami.
The cost of outsourcing some office work to deal with accident-related compensation claims and other nuclear plant-related expenses were also permitted to be passed on to customers, basically in line with Tepco's request.
"If these expenses are not counted as costs, Tepco cannot fulfill its social responsibilities to engage in decommissioning and compensation work, and could end up as a burden that would be shared by the whole public," Edano said.
Responding to Thursday's decision, Tepco released a statement saying "it is an extremely tough outcome for our company, but we will wait for final instructions (from the government)."
Given that the rate hike has been concluded, a government-backed bailout fund is expected to inject ¥1 trillion in taxpayer money into Tepco on July 31, a move that will effectively place the utility under state control.
Government agrees to 8.47% electricty rate hike
http://www3.nhk.or.jp/daily/english/20120719_27.html
Tokyo Electric Power Company has won government permission to raise electricity rates for households by about 8.47 percent, effective September 1st.
Japan's government agreed to the increase after rejecting TEPCO's initial request for a 10.28 percent rate hike.
TEPCO wants to raise electricity charges to cover massive costs associated with the nuclear accident at the Fukushima Daiichi plant.
The utility also needs to pay for fuel used at thermal power plants as almost all of Japan's nuclear power stations are currently offline.
To lower the margin of increase, the government asked TEPCO to cut the salaries of its management personnel by 31 percent from pre-disaster levels.
It also urged the company to further cut equipment procurement spending by introducing more competitive bidding.
Industry minister Yukio Edano said that after TEPCO has revised its application for the rate hike based on the government's new guideline, he will approve the increase by the end of this month.
Higher electricity charges were already implemented for corporate users in April. In line with the revised rate hike, the margin of increase will be lowered from about 16 percent to less than 15 percent.
http://mainichi.jp/english/english/newsselect/news/20120719p2g00m0dm061000c.html
TOKYO (Kyodo) -- The government decided Thursday to order Tokyo Electric Power Co. to trim its electricity rate hike for households to an average 8.47 percent from the earlier planned 10.28 percent, having determined the utility can further reduce salaries to limit the additional cost burden on consumers.
The electricity rate hike, to be implemented from Sept. 1, along with the planned injection of 1 trillion yen in public funds, is seen as essential for the utility known as TEPCO to overcome its financial plight stemming from last year's Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant disaster.
Noting that TEPCO will be asked to reduce by about 83 billion yen the total costs it initially planned to pass on to customers, Economy, Trade and Industry Minister Yukio Edano said, "After confirming that TEPCO has revised its application (on the rate hike) as ordered, I will give permission."
Under the revised rate hike percentage, a standard household using 290 kilowatt hours per month would see its monthly bill rise about 360 yen. In August, the total power bill for such households was about 7,200 yen. A 10.28 percent rate hike would have raised the payment by 479 yen, according to the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry.
In line with the revised cost calculation, Edano said that the average 16.7 percent electricity rate hike for corporate users, implemented in April, will be lowered to less than 15 percent.
Utilities are allowed to pass on to household customers costs needed to provide power, such as fuel and personnel expenses, and a certain level of "business return," which is used for such purposes as interest payments. But raising the electricity rates requires the approval of the industry minister.
As TEPCO is struggling due to increasing fuel costs for thermal power generation to make up for the halt in nuclear power generation following the Fukushima disaster, it initially submitted an average 10.28 percent electricity rate hike plan to Edano on May 11.
But following the screening process for the plan, the government decided to request TEPCO to cut annual salaries of employees in management posts by 31 percent, compared to the current 26 percent, as a three-year average, taking into account the cases of other companies that received injections of public funds such as Resona Bank.
It will also urge the company to further cut procurement costs of materials by accelerating its plan to introduce more competitive bidding.
As for the depreciation costs for the Nos. 5 and 6 reactors at the Fukushima Daiichi complex and the Nos. 1 to 4 reactors at the nearby Fukushima Daini plant, the government said that shouldering customers with the expenses "cannot be helped" as the utility has not decided to scrap the reactors.
TEPCO has so far decided to decommission the Nos. 1 to 4 reactors at the Fukushima Daiichi plant, all severely damaged by the nuclear crisis triggered by the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami.
Expenses to outsource some clerical work to deal with accident-related compensation claims and other nuclear plant-related costs were also permitted to be passed on to customers basically in line with TEPCO's request.
"If these expenses are not counted as costs, TEPCO cannot fulfill its social responsibilities to engage in decommissioning and compensation work, and could end up as a burden that would be shared by the whole public," Edano told reporters.
Responding to the government's decision, TEPCO said in a statement, "It is an extremely tough outcome for our company, but we will wait for final instructions (from the government)."
Given that the electricity rate hike issue reached a conclusion, a state-backed bailout fund is expected to inject 1 trillion yen of taxpayers' money into TEPCO on July 31, a move that will effectively place the utility under state control.
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