SENDAI--Tohoku Electric Power Co. said March 27 it will seek compensation from Tokyo Electric Power Co. for damages caused by the Fukushima nuclear disaster.
SENDAI--Tohoku Electric Power Co. said March 27 it will seek compensation from Tokyo Electric Power Co. for damages caused by the Fukushima nuclear disaster.
The Sendai-based regional utility said it will send TEPCO an initial bill of 170 million yen ($1.67 million) by the end of this month to cover expenses for relocating Tohoku Electric facilities out of evacuation zones in Fukushima Prefecture, and for the purchase of protective gear to guard against radiation.
"We are sending our first bill because certain progress has been made--three years since the onset of the disaster--in TEPCO's compensation payments to residents," Makoto Kaiwa, Tohoku Electric president, said at a March 27 news conference.
The initial bill will be followed by further demands for redress to cover operational losses, including lost sales of electric power due to the evacuation of residents and stagnated economic activity, Tohoku Electric officials added.
The continuing disaster at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant prompted Tohoku Electric in March 2013 to cancel
But Tohoku Electric said it has no plan to seek a sum of more than 18 billion yen, invested in the Namie-Odaka project, in damages from TEPCO.
Kaiwa said it would be difficult from a legal viewpoint to seek damages for the abandoned Namie-Odaka project.
"We decided to recall the project after considering all elements at hand, including public sentiment in the prefecture and the incomplete acquisition of all land plots at the plant site," he said.
"We will deal appropriately with the demands," TEPCO said in a statement.