Japan considering Tepco breakup: report

NEW YORK (MarketWatch)
Senior members of Japan’s government have been involved in secret plans to break up the company responsible for the beleaguered Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, according to reports.
The plan would see the nuclear operations of Tokyo Electric Power Co. come under government control, said Reuters, citing a report Sunday in a local paper.
The plan has been devised by Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshito Sengoku, said Reuters, citing the Mainichi daily.
The paper said its information was from unnamed sources.
As well as nationalizing the nuclear business, the plan would see Tepco sell its power distribution business, said Reuters.
Power generation operations that use thermal and hydraulic power plants would remain as the company’s business.
In April, Tokyo Electric Power Co. said it planned to shut down the stricken Fukushima Daiichi nuclear-power plant in six to nine months.
The plan would shred Tepco’s size, according to the reports, leaving it with 1.6 trillion yen ($19.8 billion) in power industry assets compared to its current 7 trillion yen.
The reports state that Sengoku has met several times with Tepco Chairman Tsunehisa Katsumata, and has informed Katsumata about the plans.
Also Sunday, The Wall Street Journal said the company has restarted the use of contaminated water to cool the reactor cores at Fukushima, one week after an initial attempt was suspended because of leaks.
Tepco is hoping to achieve a cold shutdown, lowering the fuel rods’ temperature to below 100 degrees Celsius, by January.
Tepco has been under immense scrutiny since the March 11 earthquake and tsunami that damaged the Fukushima plant which led to meltdowns and radiation leaks.
The disaster has been rated by some as the worst nuclear incident since Chernobyl in the former U.S.S.R. in 1986.
Tepco’s U.S.-traded shares have plummeted in the wake of the crisis, falling from more than $20 a share in mid-March to $4.15 at Friday’s close.
The utility company also reported a $15 billion loss for the fiscal year ending March 31, the largest ever for a non-financial Japanese company.