(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.
------------------------------------------------
[…]
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
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