Gov't approves TEPCO's business plan

January 15, 2013

Industry minister approves TEPCO's revival plan based on reactor restart

http://ajw.asahi.com/article/behind_news/politics/AJ201401150089 

REUTERS

The trade ministry on Jan. 15 approved a revival plan for Tokyo Electric Power Co., the utility responsible for the Fukushima nuclear disaster, its second attempt at restoring its battered finances.

The plan hinges on TEPCO restarting its Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear power plant to cut fossil fuel costs, a contentious undertaking staunchly opposed by the local governor.

An earlier plan by TEPCO outlining a revival after its Fukushima plant was hit by a massive earthquake and tsunami in 2011, triggering triple meltdowns at the site, had to be torn up because it could not restart Kashiwazaki.

"As for the restart of Kashiwazaki-Kariwa ... this is simply an assumption built into the financial plan," industry minister Toshimitsu Motegi said as he gave formal approval of the plan to TEPCO President Naomi Hirose.

The previous revival plan revolved around a Kashiwazaki restart in early 2013. The new plan envisages a restart of two reactors at the station in July.

Motegi and Hirose said there may be a time lag between the plan's assumption and any restarts.

The recovery of Fukushima Prefecture, dealing with compensation for those who lost homes and businesses and decommissioning the damaged plant are national priorities, Motegi told Hirose.

"TEPCO will throw all available resources at taking responsibility for Fukushima. We will compensate every last person and the company has many things to do in order for residents to return quickly," Hirose said.

The company, which is majority owned by the government after an earlier bailout, said in the plan it may increase electricity prices if there are long delays in the restart schedule.

The new plan sees deeper cost cuts and more staff reductions than in the previous version. TEPCO says it is aiming to report recurring profit of 167.7 billion yen ($1.62 billion) in the year through March 2015.

The utility said it would seek savings on fuel purchases of 650 billion yen annually by buying supplies in partnership with other companies.

POLITICAL DEBATE

The disaster at Fukushima, the worst nuclear crisis since Chernobyl in 1986, eventually brought about the halt of all nuclear power plants in Japan so they could be vetted under tougher new standards.

Opposition to nuclear power remains strong in the country and is set to become a major issue in an election next month for governorship of metropolitan Tokyo, which owns a stake in TEPCO.

Most candidates are opposed to restarting nuclear power plants and one, former prime minister Morihiro Hosokawa has received the strong backing from Junichiro Koizumi, one of Japan's most popular leaders, who ruled between 2001 and 2006.

In the nearly three years since the disaster, the utility has been plagued by a string of setbacks at the Fukushima station north of Tokyo, including leaks of highly radioactive water last year, prompting the government to step in with more support.

The local governor in Niigata, where Kashiwazaki is located, has been a vocal opponent of TEPCO's management and has questioned whether the company has the ability to operate a nuclear station, following the failings in its preparation and response to the disaster. He has publicly called for the utility's liquidation.

Govt. approves TEPCO's 10-year business plan

http://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/english/news/20140115_39.html 

Japan's government has approved a 10-year business plan from Tokyo Electric Power Company that relies on restarting nuclear reactors to turn its business around.

Industry minister Toshimitsu Motegi on Wednesday gave approval of the plan to TEPCO President Naomi Hirose. The utility was effectively put under state control after the 2011 nuclear crisis at its Fukushima Daiichi plant.

The chairman of the steering committee for the state-backed fund for nuclear accident compensation, Akio Harada, was also present.

Motegi told Hirose that the Japanese people are taking a critical look at the company. He said TEPCO must make efforts at reform with a resolve to be reborn as a new company.

Hirose replied that he regards the plan as a promise to the people. He said the utility will use all its management resources to fulfill its responsibilities related to the accident.

Under the plan, TEPCO hopes to begin restarting reactors in stages at its Kashiwazaki-Kariwa plant in Niigata Prefecture from July.

The utility envisions earning an annual pretax profit of between 950 million and 1.4 billion dollars by resuming nuclear power generation and rebuilding aging thermal power plants.

The utility says it will then gradually lower electricity fees by up to 9.6 billion dollars annually over the following decade.

The firm plans to set aside 19 billion dollars to create a task force to deal with contaminated water and to dismantle reactors at the Fukushima plant.

The business plan also says profits from sales of TEPCO shares held by the state-backed compensation fund will be used for decontamination efforts.

The utility plans to close all 10 of its branch offices in its service area and to reduce its group workforce by 2,000 employees.

TEPCO says these efforts will cut costs by about 46 billion dollars, helping the company become a competitive business.