Japan mulls $13 billion Fukushima bailout
By Linda Sieg and Kentaro Hamada
TOKYO | Thu Dec 8, 2011
(Reuters) - The Japanese government may inject about $13 billion into Tokyo Electric Power Co (9501.T) as early as next summer in a de facto nationalization of the operator of the crippled Fukushima nuclear power plant, sources said on Thursday.
Tepco's future as an independent firm has been in doubt since an earthquake and tsunami wrecked the plant in March, triggering the world's worst nuclear crisis in 25 years and leaving it with huge compensation payments and clean-up costs.
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In addition to public capital, the government and Tepco will also seek additional loans from banks, sources said, but the full scale of any Tepco bailout remains unclear.
Some analysts expressed doubt that the government would take the drastic step of taking control of the giant monopoly, which still has political clout, but the idea has proponents in some sections of Japan's ruling party.
"You have an essentially bankrupt operation, and if you are going to save it, it's going to cost a lot," said Andrew Dewit, a Rikkyo University professor who writes about energy policy.
"You've got a very bad picture getting worse, and dithering just ups the cost."
Tepco President Toshio Nishizawa was mentioned as saying a public fund injection could not be ruled out. "It is better to keep all options, so I don't deny it," Kyodo news agency quoted him as saying in an interview on Thursday.
Tepco has made progress in bringing the Fukushima plant under control and is on track to declare a "cold shutdown" -- when water used to cool the reactors is stable below boiling point -- before the end of the year.
But decommissioning four reactors at the plant is set to cost at least 1.2 trillion yen ($15.4 billion), a sum that would render Tepco insolvent if drastic measures to shore up its financial base were not taken, media reports said.
ENERGY POLICY REFORM
The Mainichi newspaper reported earlier on Thursday that the government planned to inject at least $13 billion and perhaps as much as $27 billion, while Kyodo news agency said the total bailout could reach 3 trillion yen ($38.5 billion) over four years, with half coming from private borrowings.
A government-run bailout fund would buy new stocks such as preferred shares to be issued by the utility, sources said.
Shares in Tepco slid as much as 17 percent before regaining some ground to end down 11 percent at 244 yen.
"The report got investors worried that Tepco could possibly become insolvent," said Hiroyuki Fukunaga, CEO of Investrust. "If they need 1 trillion yen to avoid that, then the money is not coming from anyone but the government."
Tepco would need to get shareholder approval to raise the ceiling on the number of shares it can issue at its next annual meeting in June.
To cover costs, Asia's biggest utility is pushing for hikes in electricity charges. It also wants permission to restart nuclear reactors, particularly those that have been idled at its biggest plant, Kashiwazaki-Kariwa.
Five of the seven reactors at that plant are off-line for checks or repairs, and two more are scheduled for planned shutdowns before May 2012.
But the ruling party has concluded that the public would be unwilling to accept higher electricity fees, particularly at a time when it is being asked to accept a hike in the sales tax to cover social security costs, Mainichi said, while restarting idled reactors is difficult due to public fears about safety.
Pushing Tepco to accept capital would also allow the government to pursue drastic reform of energy policy, including separating power generation from distribution, the paper said.
But experts questioned whether the two would necessarily go hand in hand. The government aims to finish a review of national energy policy, including nuclear power, by next summer.
"Nationalization could be a first step toward such reforms as splitting generation and distribution," said Rikkyo University's Dewit. "But whether this is a trial balloon and gets shot down in the short run, who's to say?"
The Mainichi report said a government panel led by Chief Cabinet Secretary Osamu Fujimura could, in the new year, announce plans to inject public funds, though Fujimura told reporters the issue of public funds was not now on the table.
Tepco is due to announce new steps in the coming days, which include an increase in its planned cost cuts over 10 years by 100 billion yen to 2.64 trillion yen as well as the sale of a thermal power plant, a source has said.
($1 = 77.7300 Japanese yen)
(Additional reporting by Edwina Gibbs, Taro Fuse, Mayumi Negishi, Hideyuki Sano, Taiga Uranaka and Yoko Kubota; Editing by Alex Richardson, Muralikumar Anantharaman and Will Waterman)
Save Fukushima People, Stop Nuking Asia
Tony Henderson
anti-nuclear protest Hong Kong
5 December 2011
By simply disgorging the information received from the Tokyo the local Japanese Consulate is playing a role is this disinformation exercise and leading the people and the world to believe all is on the mend but the reality is that the calamity is escalating everyday. In this connection, a protest group chanted that the Consul-General should not disinform Hong Kong people.
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Image by: Photo Pressenza
Pressenza Hong Kong, SAR, China, 12/5/11 The organizer of the 5 December 2011 protest was the Hong Kong Alliance Against Nukes, staging a protest action at the Japanese Consulate in Hong Kong. The emphasis was placed on the Fukushima plant’s nuclear radioactivity contamination releases that have not stopped nor decreased. Also, that the Japanese government is mis-informing the world, and of course it’s own people!
By releasing false information and thereby downplaying the harm caused by radioactivity contamination in and coming from Japan the consulate is doing a disservice to Hong Kong. To rectify that, five demands were raised by the group to relay on to the Japanese government. These are:
Immediately evacuate all the people living in Fukushima, particularly the 360,000 children who are most vulnerable to radiation harm; and assist the people to rebuild their livelihood in their nuclear-free new homeland.
The Japanese government to instruct TEPCO to honestly disclose the health records of the 18,000 labour workers who have been employed, directly or by subcontractors, to clean up the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant since March 11, 2011.
The Japanese government to acquire Food Radiation Counters and Whole Body Radiation Counters for communities within 1,500,000 square kilometres of Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant*. It should also hire independent experts who have experience and reliable research in low dose radiation exposure sicknesses, such as Dr. Chris Busby (scientific secretary, European Committee on Radiation Risks) and scientists at Belrad, Belarus, to monitor children’s health.
The Japanese government to work with other Asian countries for a Nuclear-Free Asia with immediate effect, and stop exporting nuclear technologies to other countries.
The Consul-General for Japan in Hong Kong to stop releasing untrue information to create false sense of security for Hong Kong people by downplaying the harm caused by radioactivity contamination in Japan.
During the same action, they also strongly protested to 15 countries which participate in Nuclear Energy Asia 2011 Conference in Hong Kong (held on December 5-6, 2011, at InterContinental Grand Stanford Hotel) for nuking Asia. They quoted independent scientists researching on low-dose radiation released from nuclear power plants to highlight the following:
Adding a fraction to the background radiation will cause genetic mutation in living organisms (including humans) and lead to premature aging, increased cancer risk (in a supralinear pattern), and a variety of diseases in children and youth such as heart diseases, diabetes, allergies and psychiatric problems. The genetic damage will pass on to future generations and is irreversible.
“Now that we know that nuclear plants release radioactivity and kill a certain number of people, scientists who support these nuclear plants—knowing the effects of radiation—don’t deserve trials for experimentation; they deserve trials for murder.” (John Gofman, M.D., PhD.)
The Chernobyl nuclear disaster having the same rating of Level 7 as the Fukushima disaster, has caused significant radioactivity contamination in the expanse of 1,500,000 square kilometers.
** The 15 countries are the U. S., France, the U.K., Finland, Japan, China, India, Republic of Korea, Mongolia, the Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia, Pakistan, Vietnam and Thailand
http://www.greenpartypost.net/nonukes.html
Tony Henderson is a freelance writer working in Hong Kong, since 1980, and previously Japan, for seven years following two years in Mauritius after a year in Libya.
Critical Issues in the Nuclear Power Industry to be Discussed at NUCLEAR POWER International 2011
PUBLISHED MONDAY, DEC. 05, 2011
TULSA, Okla., Dec. 5, 2011 -- /PRNewswire/ -- Now in its fifth year and co-located with POWER-GEN International, the world's largest power generation event, NUCLEAR POWER International 2011 heads to Las Vegas, Nev., December 13-15 to provide the industry with up-to-date information for the nuclear power industry, including panel discussions on technical and crisis communication, major nuclear project updates, and the lessons learned following events at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.
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NUCLEAR POWER International and POWER-GEN International attendees have access to the annual Keynote Session, which takes place the morning of Dec. 13th from 9:30 – 11:30 a.m. in the Barron Room at the Las Vegas Hilton. Keynote speakers include David M. Walsh, senior vice president, Service and Manufacturing, Mitsubishi Power Systems America; Donald Karner, President and CEO, ECOtality North America; and Elmo Collins, Regional Administrator, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Mr. Collins, will discuss the NRC's response to the events in Japan, and the steps taken during the NRC review and the future of nuclear power in the U.S.
"NUCLEAR POWER International 2011 will take place during an uncertain time for the nuclear power industry," said Brian Wheeler, Editor, Nuclear Power International magazine and program committee chair. "NUCLEAR POWER International's conference program will address the critical issues facing the nuclear industry around the globe."
During NUCLEAR POWER International 2011, a mega-session will discuss the lessons learned and performance procedure modifications following the events at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. This session will include a timeline of events discussion, summary of actions taken and an update on the current status of the plant. Speakers from the Japan Atomic Energy Agency, Erler Engineering and the Nuclear Energy Institute will deliver a detailed panel discussion addressing how the global nuclear industry and regulators have responded.
Conference sessions will also provide the latest updates on nuclear projects around the world, innovations in new build design and construction and the challenges of operating a plant beyond 60 years. A Mega-Session titled "Technical and Crisis Communication – Panel Discussion" will address how important good communication practices are during a crisis situation, such as the events in Japan. The panel, with speakers from Exelon Corp. and the Ammerman Experience, will present techniques for effective communication during unplanned events using real-life case studies.
Pre-registration will remain open until December 7th. Attendees can register online at www.nuclearpowerinternational.com. On site registration opens at the Las Vegas Convention Center on Sunday, December 11th and will remain open throughout the event. Attendees can register for the full conference or just walk the expansive exhibit floor.
Complimentary press registration is available to local media representatives with appropriate press credentials.
More information about NUCLEAR POWER International can be found online at www.nuclearpowerinternational.com.
About PennWell:
POWER-GEN International and NUCLEAR POWER International are owned and produced by PennWell Corporation based in Tulsa, Okla. PennWell Corporation is a diversified business-to-business media and information company that provides quality content and integrated marketing solutions for the following industries: Oil and gas, electric power, water, electronics, semiconductor, contamination control, optoelectronics, fiberoptics, enterprise storage, fire, emergency services and dental. Founded in 1910, PennWell publishes 75 print and online magazines and newsletters, conducts 60 conferences and exhibitions on six continents, and has an extensive offering of books, maps, web sites, research and database services. In addition to PennWell's headquarters in Tulsa, Oklahoma, the company has major offices in Nashua, New Hampshire; Houston, Texas; London, England; Fairlawn, New Jersey; Moscow, Russia; and Hong Kong, China. For additional information about PennWell, visit www.pennwell.com.
Contact: AnNicole FaethMarketing Manager T: +1 918 832 9347E: annicolef@pennwell.com
SOURCE PennWell
