Financial institutions have entered a final stage of negotiations for loaning an additional 1 trillion yen ($12.97 billion) to embattled Tokyo Electric Power Co., operator of the crippled Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant, sources said.
Financial institutions have entered a final stage of negotiations for loaning an additional 1 trillion yen ($12.97 billion) to embattled Tokyo Electric Power Co., operator of the crippled Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant, sources said.
The institutions decided that giving the additional financial support would be acceptable now that TEPCO has decided to accept an injection of public funds, increasing the utility's creditworthiness.
The financial institutions include Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp., Mizuho Corporate Bank, Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ and Development Bank of Japan.
TEPCO is unable to stay afloat without additional funds to cover the swelling fuel costs for thermal power generation to make up for lost capacity at shut down nuclear power plants and the cost of decommissioning reactors at the Fukushima No. 1 plant.
The utility plans to officially ask for loans from at least 13 financial institutions--three mega-banks, the DBJ, four major trust banks, four major life insurance companies and Shinkin Central Bank.
TEPCO will likely asking the DBJ for 500 billion yen, each of the three mega-banks for 100 billion yen and a total of 200 billion yen from the remaining institutions, sources said.
Financial institutions have been cautious about offering additional loans to TEPCO since the utility owes about 4 trillion yen in outstanding loans, including about 2 trillion yen in emergency loans extended in March 2011.