Asia-Pacific News
Japan utility seeks 8.8 billion dollars more to pay nuke claims
Dec 27, 2011, 9:51 GMT
Tokyo - The Tokyo Electric Power Co (TEPCO) on Tuesday asked the government for another 689.4 billion yen (8.84 billion dollars) to help it pay compensation claims filed in the wake of the worst nuclear accident since Chernobyl.
The utility had already asked for 1.01 trillion yen, and it received 891 billion yen from the government's Nuclear Damage Liability Facilitation Fund in November.
TEPCO, which produces nearly a third of Japan's electricity, has been struggling since a March 11 earthquake and tsunami swamped its Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station, shutting down its cooling systems, causing meltdowns in three of its six reactors and releasing radioactive materials.
About 160,000 residents nearby were evacuated and have yet to return.
The power supplier faces billions of dollars in compensation claims, leading to a rise in speculation that it would eventually be nationalized.
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