Power firms profit most from homes

[kristopher]

What makes this particularly interesting is that only 1/4 of Japanese "firms" want to continue using nuclear power. I'm willing to guess that there is a connection between the ones that benefit most from the policies described below and support for nuclear.
See also: http://www.democraticunderground.com/112715975

Power firms profit most from homes
Kyodo
A government study on profit structures at 10 power companies shows that the regional monopolies derive most of their profits from the regulated market for households while keeping down charges in the competitive market for big companies and other large-lot users.

Between fiscal 2006 and 2010, they earned 69 percent of their aggregate profit from households, which account for 38 percent of power sales by volume, according to the results of the research unveiled Wednesday by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry.

The revelation will likely add force to criticism of Tokyo Electric Power Co.'s plan to raise home electricity rates. Tepco, the country's biggest utility, is in bad financial shape. It faces growing fuel costs after shutting down its nuclear power plants amid the Fukushima disaster, and staggering compensation costs over the crisis alone.

Calls on the government to accelerate talks on liberalizing the power sales market may also intensify, but power companies may resist any moves for radical market reforms.

Hisa Anan, head of the...

http://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/nb20120525a1.html

[xchrom]

1. I wonder how long it's been since big companies

Have had to figure a true 'cost of doing business' ?

[RobertEarl]

2. Exactly

The Tepcos of the world figured out a long time ago that if the big consumers found out that they could self-supply cheaply via alternatives, then they would. So Big Power made damn sure that their rates would be so low that the big users wouldn't self-supply.

The only way to make it all up was to charge the masses who could not efficiently self supply.