Description
Tokyo Electric Power is a Japanese electric utility holding company servicing Japan's Kantō region, Yamanashi Prefecture, and the eastern portion of Shizuoka Prefecture. This area includes Tokyo. Its headquarters are located in Uchisaiwaicho, Chiyoda, Tokyo, and international branch offices exist in Washington, D.C., and London. It is a founding member of strategic consortiums related to energy innovation and research; such as JINED, INCJ and MAI.
In 2007, TEPCO was forced to shut the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa Nuclear Power Plant after the Niigata-Chuetsu-Oki earthquake. That year it posted its first loss in 28 years. Corporate losses continued until the plant reopened in 2009. Following the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami, one of its power plants was the site of one of the world's most serious ongoing nuclear disaster, the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster. TEPCO could face ¥2 trillion ($23.6 billion) in special losses in the current business year to March 2012, and the Japanese government plans to put TEPCO under effective state control to guarantee compensation payments to the people affected by the accident. The Fukushima disaster displaced 50,000 households in the evacuation zone because of leaks of radioactive materials into the air, soil and sea.
In July 2012, TEPCO received ¥1 trillion from the Japanese government in order to prevent collapse of the company to ensure electricity is still being supplied to Tokyo and its surrounding municipalities, and for the decommissioning of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant. TEPCO's management subsequently made a proposal to its shareholders for the company to be part-nationalized. The Nuclear Damage Compensation and Decommissioning Facilitation Corporation later became the majority stockholder to oversee damages and decommissioning of the power plant. The total cost of the disaster was estimated at $100bn in May 2012.
