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"The private sector alone cannot handle the costs" [View all]
Troubled Tsuruga reactor could force utilities to shoulder enormous financial burdens
The utility companies that hold major stakes in Japan Atomic Power Co. could be forced to shoulder enormous financial burdens if JAPC were to collapse due to the possible shutdown and decommissioning of the No. 2 reactor at its Tsuruga Nuclear Power Plant in Tsuruga, Fukui Prefecture.
A panel of experts appointed by the Nuclear Regulation Authority concluded on May 15 that the No. 2 reactor at the Tsuruga nuclear power station in western Japan is located right above an active fault that could undermine its safety, increasing the likelihood the unit would be shut down permanently. The power companies, major shareholders of JAPC, have already decided to extend support to JAPC until April next year, but there are no viable plans yet to restore its finances.
In the case of ordinary bankruptcies, shareholders' losses are limited to the amounts of their investments. But of all the power companies that buy electricity from JAPC, four -- Kansai Electric Power Co., Chubu Electric Power Co., Hokuriku Electric Power Co., and Tohoku Electric Power Co. -- guarantee JAPC's debts totaling about 100 billion yen. Therefore, if JAPC cannot repay its debts, the four power companies will be forced to shoulder them.
Furthermore, JAPC puts aside money for future costs to reprocess spent nuclear fuel and decommission its nuclear reactors, but if the company goes bankrupt, the accumulated funds will certainly run short. A senior government official said, "There is a possibility that the power companies will have to shoulder a total of 500 to 700 billion yen." That would further upset the power companies that have already incurred heavy losses due to higher fuel costs as a result of the shutdown of their nuclear reactors.
For this reason, "The private sector alone cannot handle the costs," said a senior power company official...
The utility companies that hold major stakes in Japan Atomic Power Co. could be forced to shoulder enormous financial burdens if JAPC were to collapse due to the possible shutdown and decommissioning of the No. 2 reactor at its Tsuruga Nuclear Power Plant in Tsuruga, Fukui Prefecture.
A panel of experts appointed by the Nuclear Regulation Authority concluded on May 15 that the No. 2 reactor at the Tsuruga nuclear power station in western Japan is located right above an active fault that could undermine its safety, increasing the likelihood the unit would be shut down permanently. The power companies, major shareholders of JAPC, have already decided to extend support to JAPC until April next year, but there are no viable plans yet to restore its finances.
In the case of ordinary bankruptcies, shareholders' losses are limited to the amounts of their investments. But of all the power companies that buy electricity from JAPC, four -- Kansai Electric Power Co., Chubu Electric Power Co., Hokuriku Electric Power Co., and Tohoku Electric Power Co. -- guarantee JAPC's debts totaling about 100 billion yen. Therefore, if JAPC cannot repay its debts, the four power companies will be forced to shoulder them.
Furthermore, JAPC puts aside money for future costs to reprocess spent nuclear fuel and decommission its nuclear reactors, but if the company goes bankrupt, the accumulated funds will certainly run short. A senior government official said, "There is a possibility that the power companies will have to shoulder a total of 500 to 700 billion yen." That would further upset the power companies that have already incurred heavy losses due to higher fuel costs as a result of the shutdown of their nuclear reactors.
For this reason, "The private sector alone cannot handle the costs," said a senior power company official...
http://mainichi.jp/english/english/newsselect/news/20130516p2a00m0na016000c.html
Oooops.
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