- 14 Mar 2002
- 15,973
- 9,211
- 749
Those (residing in Japan) who thought their electricity bill for January was astronomical, brace yourself: Tepco will increase its electricity rates by some 30% in June this year!
TEPCO hopes the rate hike will improve its business environment, which has been hit hard by soaring fuel costs. "We have come to this difficult decision as (surging costs) could disrupt the stable supply of electricity," Kobayakawa said. The submitted application factors in the plan to bring the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear plant in Niigata Prefecture back online. The utility applied to the industry ministry to raise the regulated electricity rates, which requires government approval. The ministry will examine the application and decide the final rates after public hearings to solicit opinions from the public. If the ministry approves TEPCO's request, a monthly bill for a standard household using 260 kilowatt-hours is expected to rise by 2,611 JPY ($20), raising the current bill of 9,126 JPY to 11,737 JPY.
Tepco seeks to raise household power prices by 30% from June
The move follows five other Japanese electric utilities that have already applied to raise prices by between 28% and 46% from April due to soaring fuel procurement costs.
www.japantimes.co.jp