May. 13, 2015 - 03:24PM JST
TOKYO —
Kansai Electric Power Co (KEPCO) has received government approval to increase electricity rates for households by an average of 8.36% from June 1.
KEPCO had applied to the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry to increase household power rates by an average 10.23%, but Industry Minister Yoichi Miyazawa told a news conference on Tuesday he had instructed the utility to lower the proposed hike as crude oil prices have fallen slightly, Sankei reported.
KEPCO’s last household rate increase was in May 2013.
On April 30, KEPCO reported a group net loss of 148.38 billion yen for fiscal 2014 due to the cost of thermal power generation to replace nuclear power. The utility has submitted a request to the Nuclear Regulation Authority to extend the operational period of the Nos. 1 and 2 reactors at its Takahama nuclear plant in Fukui Prefecture.
KEPCO President Makoto Yagi told reporters on Tuesday that the company will lower household rates if its reactors can go back online.
All 48 of Japan’s nuclear reactors were gradually taken offline after the meltdown at the Fukushima Daiichi plant in northeast Japan following an earthquake and tsunami in 2011.
The shutdown has forced nuclear operators to turn to more expensive fossil fuels to run power stations, pushing most of them into a sustained period of losses.
KEPCO, which raised prices by 14% last month for its corporate customers, serves Japan’s second most important economic region, where companies including Panasonic Corp and Sharp Corp are headquartered.
Japan has been importing record amounts of liquefied natural gas and coal to fill the gap for power generation. Imports of LNG and coal are expected to stay high unless Japan moves to start more than a few reactors, analysts have said.
Japan Today