INTERVIEW: Fuel Cost Impact on Electricity Bills to Appear in July-Aug.

Tokyo, April 24 (Jiji Press)–The impact of surging prices of fuel for power generation reflecting the ongoing Middle East crisis may “fully start to appear” in electricity bills for July or August, Japanese power industry leader Nozomu Mori has said. Meanwhile, Mori, chairman of the Federation of Electric Power Companies of Japan, said in an interview with Jiji Press on Thursday, “There is no need (for power suppliers) to call on customers to save electricity (this summer) as the supply-demand balance is unlikely to become tight.” Liquefied natural gas transported to Japan through the Strait of Hormuz accounts for only 6 pct of the country’s total LNG imports, he said, adding, “We have promoted the diversification of LNG procurement sources, which has helped avoid a major (supply) problem.” LNG is a key fuel for thermal power generation. Mori indicated that the electricity industry as a whole will try to reduce risks by further diversifying suppliers and revising contracts. In March, the Japanese government asked the remote Pacific island village of Ogasawara in Tokyo for consent to its plan to conduct a literature survey on the feasibility of constructing a final disposal facility for highly radioactive waste from nuclear power plants on Minamitorishima, one of the Ogasawara Islands. It was the first time for the government to seek approval for the survey without a request for such a move from local authorities. Mori praised this and said, “It is very significant for the government to promote work (to select a final disposal site) by taking this approach.” Regarding the data fraud found at Chubu Electric Power Co.’s Hamaoka nuclear power station in the central prefecture of Shizuoka, Mori said, “There is no choice for the federation and each power company but to make every effort to restore public trust.” END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]