TEPCO has only paid 2% of decontamination work so far

March 30, 2015

Tepco refusing to pay fallout-hit municipalities for most decontamination work

Kyodo

http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2015/03/30/national/tepco-refusing-pay-fallout-hit-municipalities-decontamination-work/#.VRg7BeHwmot

Tokyo Electric Power Co. has only covered 2 percent of the ¥76.1 billion ($638.8 million) municipalities have spent on decontamination work since the Fukushima nuclear crisis began in 2011, Environment Ministry officials said Sunday.

The operator of the crisis-hit Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant has effectively refused to cover the costs of removing tainted soil and other debris accrued by the fallout-hit governments, saying it is confirming whether such payments are required by law.

The central government has paid for the cleanup work on behalf of the utility better known as Tepco, but if the utility continues to balk, more taxpayers’ money will be spent to cover interest payments.

Tepco has so far basically paid for decontamination work conducted directly by the central government in areas close to the nuclear plant, but treated decontamination work carried out by local governments in other areas designated by the government as needing cleanup, in a different manner.

Under the current scheme, municipal governments have been authorized to conduct decontamination in designated areas. The central government pays them first and has Tepco reimburse it for the expenses later.

A law enacted in August 2011 stipulates that Tepco bears the responsibility to pay for the decontamination work. The central government had earmarked a total of ¥1.4 trillion in this regard, including around ¥630 billion for work done by local municipality offices, by the end of fiscal 2014.

The Environment Ministry has requested that Tepco pay back ¥76.1 billion by the end of February to cover work for which costs have been finalized. But Tepco has only paid ¥1.5 billion.

Asked about the issue, a Tepco official said, “It takes time for us to confirm if they were decontamination operations for which we are obliged to pay the costs.”

In response, an Environment Ministry official said, “All of our requests to Tokyo Electric Power have been made based on the law and we will continue to urge the company to pay back all the money.”

Tepco posted its first pretax profit in three years in the business year ended in March 2014 after plunging into financial difficulties following the triple core meltdowns in March 2011.

The utility is projecting a group pretax profit of ¥227 billion for the current business year ending next Tuesday.