Creditor banks to loan 500 billion yen to TEPCO 住友、三井、瑞穂、三菱銀行は、来年の再稼動を考慮にいれて、5兆円のローンを東電に融資

(Source) 
http://ajw.asahi.com/article/economy/business/AJ201311150052

By HIDEFUMI NOGAMI/ Staff Writer
Tokyo Electric Power Co.’s main creditor banks agreed to provide 500 billion yen ($5 billion) in loans after the utility forecast a fiscal 2014 profit based on assumptions it can restart two nuclear reactors.
The creditors will extend 300 billion yen in new loans to the operator of the crippled Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant in addition to 200 billion yen in refinancing at the end of this year, sources in both TEPCO and the banks told The Asahi Shimbun.
The group includes Japan’s three mega-bank groups--Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group, Mizuho Financial Group and Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group--and the Development Bank of Japan.
TEPCO, which posted losses in fiscal 2011 and 2012, is expected to return to the black in fiscal 2013, thanks partly to cost reductions and an increase in electricity rates.
In talks with creditors, the utility forecast a profit in fiscal 2014 assuming that the No. 6 and No. 7 reactors of its Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear plant in Niigata Prefecture will be brought back online. Nuclear power generation will significantly reduce the need to spend huge amounts on fuel to run thermal power plants, TEPCO has said.
TEPCO expects the reactor operations to resume in April, July or October next year. The company also showed how another hike in electricity rates would improve its bottom line, the sources said.
But the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa reactors, which have remained offline since the Fukushima nuclear crisis started in March 2011, can only be reactivated after they have passed safety screenings by the Nuclear Regulation Authority. Niigata Governor Hirohiko Izumida, who has maintained a cautious stance, must also give his consent.
The NRA is soon expected to begin full safety screenings for the No. 6 and No. 7 reactors.
Despite the uncertainties, the creditor banks appear optimistic about TEPCO’s chances of staying in the black.
The administration of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is discussing plans to alleviate TEPCO’s financial burden by having the government bear part of the huge expenses to decontaminate affected areas and build intermediate storage facilities around the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant.
TEPCO and the government’s Nuclear Damage Liability Facilitation Fund plan to review the utility’s rehabilitation program, including the introduction of a holding company structure, by the end of December.
The facilitation fund on Nov. 14 interviewed officials of TEPCO’s main creditor banks for requests about the rehabilitation plan. The banks are expected to finalize their decision on extending the loans once the rehabilitation program has been reviewed.
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Since the nuclear disaster at the Fukushima No. 1 plant, TEPCO has posted huge annual losses for two consecutive fiscal years.
Because creditor banks may stop providing loans if the utility reports a loss once again for this fiscal year, TEPCO plans to return to the black this fiscal year by restarting the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa plant.
According to its rehabilitation plan, TEPCO planned to resume operations at reactors at the plant in phases from April.
Hokkaido Electric Power Co., Kansai Electric Power Co., Shikoku Electric Power Co. and Kyushu Electric Power Co. also plan to submit applications for restarts for a total of 12 reactors as early as July 8.
Taking into account that the NRA needs about six months to screen an application, TEPCO decided to apply for permission now after concluding that it will not be able to restart the reactors for several years if it does not submit applications together with the four other utilities.
http://ajw.asahi.com/article/0311disaster/fukushima/AJ201307030055