TEPCO Postpones Business Rehabilitation Plan Amidst Uncertain Nuclear Restart Prospects

Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) has decided to delay the revision of its business rehabilitation plan, which was initially set to be completed by the end of fiscal 2024. The delay stems from the uncertainty surrounding the resumption of operations at the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear power plant in Niigata Prefecture, a facility that TEPCO had hoped would boost its earnings.

In the aftermath of the Fukushima nuclear disaster, TEPCO has relied on loans from the national government to manage the crisis, which includes compensating affected residents and decommissioning the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station. To support its operations, the company has also secured bank loans for its electricity business. This rehabilitation plan was crucial in justifying the financial support from the government.

Originally introduced in 2012, following the Fukushima disaster, the rehabilitation plan has undergone updates approximately every three years. Initial estimates for managing the nuclear disaster's repercussions were around 6 trillion yen (roughly $41.27 billion), but costs have escalated to an alarming 23.4 trillion yen (approximately $161 billion) due to various factors, including compensation claims from the fishing industry over treated water release.

Despite scheduled repayments of 500 billion yen (about $3.45 billion) annually to the national government, TEPCO has only managed to pay around 400 billion yen (approximately $2.76 billion) each year due to continuous financial difficulties. A significant cause of this poor performance is the ongoing inoperability of the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear plant. TEPCO had hoped to restart the plant in 2019, anticipating that each revived reactor would improve its economic balance by 100 billion yen (approximately $688 million), but various scandals regarding safety measures have hampered its efforts to gain local support for the restart.

To date, TEPCO has invested over 1 trillion yen (around $6.88 billion) in safety enhancements, which has adversely affected its financial stability and raised concerns over its ability to make necessary capital investments for a reliable power supply. Critics contend that it was misguided for TEPCO to craft a rehabilitation plan contingent on nuclear energy, especially given its history of causing a catastrophic nuclear incident.

As TEPCO revises its plan by the end of fiscal 2025, it is suggested that the company undergoes a comprehensive strategic reform. It is vital for TEPCO to realign its business strategy to bolster financial performance. While it integrated its thermal power division with Chubu Electric Power Co. in 2019, there is an urgent need for TEPCO to collaborate more extensively with other companies, particularly in renewable energy sectors that exhibit strong growth potential. This shift is essential for ensuring the company's financial recovery and moving away from dependence on nuclear energy.