Utilities seek gov't support after posting losses

Total BS, you can make book look anyway you want, they just want a payout like Tepco.

No more rate hike please, apply power cut depending on areas and try shut down few reactors permanently.

Wasn't there a recent report about TEPCO making money even with their Fukushima plant destroyed and millions spent on cleaning up? How could these others lose money when they did not encounter the same problems?

"Japan’s nuclear-reliant utilities"

Does the LDP have anything to do with this?

how do you think Japan was going to meet the goals of the Kyoto Protocols? it was the nuclear energy that was driving the initiative to cut greenhouse gasses. you cannot build enough windplants to power the island, and if you want Japan to stay independent you cannot keep cutting power- it is not just homes affected but business.

like it or not - until another source of energy is discovered nuclear is the cleanest one out there- and the safety record is better than the others.

where the companies have failed is training the people correctly and being transparent as to what to do and when to do it.

the failure rate in Japan is much higher in the rest of the world- and that is process/people related- not equipment.

The real bottom line here is that these plants aren't being restarted because they're old, unsafe and can't pass the inspections unless the inspectors get over-ruled by political pressure. That's what this is. The power companies are trying to pressure the politicians into over-ruling the inspectors.

How did this happen? There was no planning. In a normal business if you have a vital, very expensive, piece of equipment you maintain it regularly and save a bit each year to cover its eventual replacement cost. These power companies instead ran their equipment into the ground, didn't make provision for replacement costs, and knew that when the crunch-point came the government would HAVE to bail them out or face a country without power.

The power companies are basically playing chicken with the government. It is so immature that it is shocking. What is even more shocking is that the idiots in government seem to be falling for it.

The nuclear power companies need to be taught a lesson. Declare them bankrupt, sell off their assets, pay their creditors and the power will flow again, this time from smaller local companies who'll provide the same voltage at lower prices. I'm certain that after they do it to one power company the others will magically "find" extra cash to avoid bankrupcy and suddenly become MUCH more reasonable.

Didn't TEPCO report huge profits just about two months ago?

Frungy -- great post. This whole debacle exposes Japan Inc. at its worst. The un-holy alliance of big companies, bureaucrats and politicians decide what is "best" for the population and, of course, the actual safety and long-term best interests of the citizens is not a big factor in their thinking. So then, when things blow-up, which they inevitably do, the public ends up paying for the problems. It is a vicious cycle that has characterized Japan for decades, and will likely never change, since the people like being led, rather than actually setting the course.

Nuclear was supposed to be cheap huh :) ,, and still they didn't even decommision a single plant , i wonder how 'cheap'it will be then , you havent seen nothing yet ,, . But then again nuclear doesnt have to worry about anything ,, government has the industries back ,, and of course public will pay for the costs eventually ,,that s how it always goes .

All those huge profits should have gone back to the Japanese government/people

IF the power companies would have steadily over the years updated their reactors in stead of pocketing it ALL of the nuclear reactors in Japan w3ould now be totally updated.

Now the the very same GREED that caused this mess is now going to control the government and peoples of Japan.

...you cannot build enough windplants to power...until another source of energy is discovered nuclear is the cleanest one out there

Geothermal. Japan is sitting on (literally...) an ocean of energy. Even using conservative traditional techniques there is enough to supply the entire country. It is nearly as clean as nuclear wrt greenhouse emissions. Worst case safety is far better than nuclear. And after initial capital investment (which is also less than comparable NPP), the energy is basically free - no fuel costs at all.

The government is broke. Go ask TEPCO for help. They have plenty of money. If they won't give, I endorse you all banding together and making literal war on TEPCO.

It is a vicious cycle that has characterized Japan for decades, and will likely never change, since the people like being led, rather than actually setting the course. yep when you have a culture that prefers conformity over individuality what do you expect.

/////...you cannot build enough windplants to power...until another source of energy is discovered nuclear is the cleanest one out there////

As long as they keep investing in nuclear , green energy has no chance , we are doomed to repeat the same mistakes. They say there is enough energy in one hour of sunshine to supply the whole world for an entire year ,, wind geothermal even wave energy are all resources that need to be developed massively but the politicial mentality is not there to achive it . Not only for japan but for many other countries,, politiicians are very short sighted people ,, they think in terms of short economical profits instead of long term sustainable investments. Only major change in public opinion can make the the necessary step to ditch nuclear , but if even fukushima did nt do it ,, i dont know what would .