nuclear-news

Japanese taxpayers to take over Tepco Electric Power Company

Japan to take over two thirds stake in Tepco: report (Reuters)  by Nobuhiro Kubo and James Topham; Editing by Edwina Gibbs, 21 Dec 11– The Japanese government plans to take a stake of more than two-thirds in Tokyo Electric Power Co (9501.T) in a de facto nationalization of the operator of the crippled Fukushima nuclear power plant, the Yomiuri newspaper said on Wednesday.

Sources said this month that the government may inject about $13 billion into Asia’s biggest utility as early as next summer in a de  facto nationalization.

The Yomiuri also reported that the government is looking at injecting
1 trillion yen ($12.7 billion), and added that banks will be asked to
provide 1 trillion yen in loans, citing sources familiar with the
matter…..Tepco’s future as an independent firm has been in doubt
since an earthquake and tsunami wrecked the plant in March, triggering
the world’s worst nuclear crisis in 25 years and leaving it with huge
compensation payments and clean-up costs.

The Yomiuri said full-scale negotiations for the government to acquire
classified stock in Tepco, a category that includes preferred shares,
will begin next year, with related parties aiming to complete them by
next March……Last Friday, Japan declared a cold shutdown at the
disaster-hit Fukushima Daiichi plant, but it still faces a massive
cleanup task at the nuclear complex located 240 km (150 miles)
northeast of Tokyo.

Decommissioning four reactors at the plant is set to cost at least 1.2
trillion yen, a sum that would render the power company insolvent if
drastic measures to shore up its financial base were not taken, media
reports have said….http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/12/21/us-tepco-bailout-idUSTRE7BJ2CV20111221

December 21, 2011 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | Japan, politics