With all of its reactors offline, Kansai Electric Power Co. is moving to raise household electricity rates for the second time after the 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster to cover higher fuel costs from thermal power generation.
With all of its reactors offline, Kansai Electric Power Co. is moving to raise household electricity rates for the second time after the 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster to cover higher fuel costs from thermal power generation.
The utility said Dec. 17 it will apply to the industry ministry for approval to raise the household electricity rate in April after it decides on the extent of increase.
"It is a tough decision, but we have no other choice," Kansai Electric President Makoto Yagi told a news conference.
The company is expected to post a fourth consecutive loss for the year ending next March. Before the Fukushima disaster, the utility depended on nuclear power for 45 percent of the electricity it generated.
The company will also increase the rate for corporate users in April, a move that does not require government approval.
If the ministry approves the hike, Kansai Electric will be the second regional power company to increase electricity rates twice since the triple meltdown at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant.
Kansai Electric raised its household electricity rate in May 2013 for the first time in 33 years by an average of 9.75 percent. The increase was calculated based on the assumption that the utility's four idled nuclear reactors would be restarted after summer 2013.
Although the Nuclear Regulation Authority gave provisional safety clearance on Dec. 17 to two reactors at the company's Takahama nuclear power plant in Fukui Prefecture, the utility decided the rate hike was necessary because of the slow progress in restarting all four reactors.
In November, Hokkaido Electric Power Co. raised household electricity rates by an average of 15.33 percent, its second rate increase since the disaster.