InfoAnda - Analysis:Nuclear crisis bolsters Japan push for utilities reform |

Pakistanis angry over detentions in Times Sq. case
Monday, May 24, 2010
ISLAMABAD – Relatives of three men detained by Pakistan for alleged links to the suspect in the attempted Times Square bombing say the men are innocent.
They

Taiwan denies boycotting Australian film festival
Thursday, August 6, 2009

AFP - Thursday, August 6TAIPEI (AFP) - - Taiwan's Beijing-friendly government on Wednesday denied boycotting an Australian film festival amid a row over the e

Merkel's support dips, regional ally resigns International
Thursday, September 3, 2009

By Sarah Marsh and Noah Barkin

BERLIN (Reuters) - Chancellor Angela Merkel suffered a double blow on Thursday as a senior party ally in east German

Minister seeks closure of anti-Berlusconi websites
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
ROME (AFP) - – The Italian government moved Tuesday to close down Internet sites encouraging further violence against Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, who

Asian markets mixed after Wall Street rally
Wednesday, March 18, 2009

By ELAINE KURTENBACH,AP Business Writer AP - Wednesday, March 18SHANGHAI - Asia's stock market rally seemed to be running out of steam Wednesday, despite an

Microsoft yanks "sexting" shot from Kin ad | 20 April 2010
Adele's 21 regains top spot on Billboard chart | | 27 October 2011
Happiest European children in Netherlands | 21 April 2009

Envoys sent by North Korea's Kim arrive in South | 22 August 2009

Forum Views () Forum Replies ()

Read more with google mobile : Analysis:Nuclear crisis bolsters Japan push for utilities reform |

Edition: U.S. Africa Arabic Argentina Brazil Canada China France Germany India Italy Japan Latin America Mexico Russia Spain United Kingdom Home Business Business Home Economy Davos 2012 Technology Media Small Business Legal Deals Earnings Summits Business Video The Freeland File Markets Markets Home U.S. Markets European Markets Asian Markets Global Market Data Indices M&A Stocks Bonds Currencies Commodities Futures Funds peHUB World World Home U.S. Brazil China Euro Zone Japan Mexico Russia India Insight World Video Reuters Investigates Decoder Politics Politics Home Election 2012 Issues 2012 Candidates 2012 Tales from the Trail Political Punchlines Supreme Court Politics Video Tech Technology Home MediaFile Science Tech Video Tech Tonic Opinion Opinion Home Chrystia Freeland John Lloyd Felix Salmon Jack Shafer David Rohde Bernd Debusmann Nader Mousavizadeh Lucy P. Marcus David Cay Johnston Bethany McLean Edward Hadas Hugo Dixon Ian Bremmer Mohamed El-Erian Lawrence Summers Susan Glasser The Great Debate Steven Brill Geraldine Fabrikant Jack & Suzy Welch Breakingviews Equities Credit Private Equity M&A Macro & Markets Politics Breakingviews Video Money Money Home Tax Break Global Investing MuniLand Unstructured Finance Linda Stern Mark Miller John Wasik James Saft Analyst Research Alerts Watchlist Portfolio Stock Screener Fund Screener Personal Finance Video Money Clip Investing 201 Life Health Sports Arts Faithworld Business Traveler Entertainment Oddly Enough Lifestyle Video Pictures Pictures Home Reuters Photographers Full Focus Video Reuters TV Reuters News Article Comments (0) Full Focus Editor's choice A selection of our best photos from the last 24 hours. Full Article Images of January Best photos of the year 2011 Follow Reuters Facebook Twitter RSS YouTube Read Jobless rate at three-year low as payrolls surge | 3:16pm EST Radcliffe admits being drunk during "Harry Potter" scenes 1:51pm EST Iran threatens retaliation over oil embargo 1:49pm EST A sobering look at Facebook | 3:09pm EST Komen reverses move to cut Planned Parenthood funding 3:47pm EST Discussed 163 Job growth seen slowing after holiday boost 92 Romney wins Florida Republican presidential primary 89 Indiana poised to approve anti-union law Watched Iran sends toy drone to Obama Sun, Jan 29 2012 We are already in new great depression: Paul Krugman 5:15am EST Leftist protesters attack British banks in Buenos Aires Thu, Feb 2 2012 Analysis:Nuclear crisis bolsters Japan push for utilities reform Tweet Share this Email Print Related News U.N. agency approves Japan's reactor stress tests Tue, Jan 31 2012 Japanese town's dependence on nuclear plant hushes criticism Thu, Jan 26 2012 Japan's stricken nuclear operator set for $13 billion bailout Thu, Jan 26 2012 Obama backs shale gas drilling Wed, Jan 25 2012 Japan's first trade deficit since 1980 raises debt doubts Wed, Jan 25 2012 Analysis & Opinion Facebook.coop The tough road to sensible taxes Related Topics World » Japan » By Linda Sieg TOKYO | Fri Feb 3, 2012 3:15pm EST TOKYO (Reuters) - Mayor Nobuto Hosaka had more than saving taxpayers' money on his mind when he recently invited bids from rivals of giant utility Tokyo Electric Power Co to supply power to his ward in Japan's capital. Hosaka, like other advocates of reform, hopes altered public sentiment after the nation suffered the world's worst nuclear crisis in 25 years will spur reforms of an electricity oligopoly dominated for decades by regional utility fiefdoms. "Doing this will reduce our electricity costs," said Hosaka, a former lawmaker from a tiny left-leaning party who now runs an area of Tokyo that is home to some 800,000 people. "But the reason this attracted so much attention was that until now, the voices of ordinary users -- the people, residents of the ward, businesses -- have not been heard," he told Reuters. "By showing that choice (of supplier) is possible and demanding competition, this will give impetus to a more open electricity market." Hosaka and other reform advocates, however, fear the utilities still hold enough sway to hamper change, despite weakened political clout after the disaster at Tepco's tsunami-ravaged Fukushima plant. "From the people's perspective, the power of a few is still very great and this is obstructing reform," Hosaka said. Debate on utility reform will formally kick off at an expert panel Thursday, one key strand of a potentially sweeping remake of Japan's energy policy intended to reduce the role of nuclear power, promote renewables, spur energy conservation and address the problem of greenhouse gas emissions. Reformers are betting that tattered public trust in Japan's utilities will give impetus to changes they argue are needed to give users more choice, bring down electricity costs that disadvantage Japanese firms globally, and promote clean, renewable sources of energy such as solar power. "Because we must increase renewable energy and thoroughly promote energy conservation to reduce reliance on nuclear power and solve the problem of CO2 emissions, we must create an electricity system that promotes renewables and conservation. That means a decentralized energy system," said Satoshi Kusakabe, a former trade and industry ministry official now advising the government on energy policies. "The question is not whether or not to liberalize, but how to liberalize the electricity system," he told Reuters. "The debate from now on will be over the speed and scope of liberalization." BLOCKED REFORMS Hosaka's Tokyo ward will take advantage of a system introduced in stages starting a dozen years ago to open the market for large-scale electricity users such as factories and offices. But those reforms were mostly gutted by politically powerful utilities keen to keep a stranglehold on the market, many experts say. Competitors to the 10 regional utilities account for less than 4 percent of the 60 percent of Japan's electricity market that has been deregulated. Utilities, Tepco foremost among them, have long had cozy ties with politicians and bureaucrats and also wield hefty influence within Japan's powerful business lobby, Keidanren. "They created a system that imposes a huge handicap on participants with a small number of customers and limited power generation capacity," said Toshihiro Matsumura, a University of Tokyo professor and member of the expert advisory panel on reform. "So there is almost no competition." Utilities and their political and bureaucratic allies have long argued Japan's system of regional monopolies that own both power plants and transmission grids ensured vital stability in the electricity supply. The regional utilities are required by law to provide a stable electricity supply. But that argument was undercut by rolling blackouts after a massive March 11 earthquake and tsunami devastated Tepco's Fukushima Daiichi atomic plant, while broader public confidence in utilities that had touted nuclear power as safe was shredded. "Opponents to liberalization say stability would be jeopardized ... but we learned from March 11 that a centralized system was so fragile when a big national disaster strikes," said Hiroshi Takahashi, a research fellow at Fujitsu Research Institute and another member of the expert panel. "I strongly believe that a decentralized system would be more robust and stable for electricity supplies," he said. Trading firms, gas companies and telecom carriers such as Softbank Corp, whose founder Masayoshi Son is keen on renewable energy, are among those likely to want to take part in a deregulated market, along with local governments eager to get involved in renewable energy projects, experts said. Before last year's disaster, Japan aimed to boost its total power generation capacity to 260 gigawatts by 2020, up from 240 gigawatts in 2010, though it is unclear if Tokyo will continue to target such a large expansion given uncertainty over the role of nuclear power and a new emphasis on energy conservation. ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Japan power sector graphic: link.reuters.com/mej23s ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ "UNBENDING" THE GRID Foremost among the changes reformers want to implement is the separation of power generation, transmission and distribution. Japan's 10 regional monopolies now own transmission grids in their service areas so new entrants must pay access charges to use them. "When you deregulate, especially to separate functions, you lower barriers to entry for new businesses," said Andrew DeWit, a professor at Rikkyo University in Tokyo who studies energy policy. "Under monopoly control, the utilities can make sure these new entrants face a tough climb." Among the obstacles new entrants must overcome is a rule requiring them to balance supply and demand every 30 minutes, and pay a hefty penalty if any imbalance exceeds 3 percent. One option to achieve "unbundling" would be to set up publicly run Independent System Operators (ISO) to coordinate, control and monitor the operation of transmission grids along lines similar to state-based organizations in the United States. The commitment of Trade and Energy Minister Yukio Edano, who gained first-hand knowledge of energy problems when he served as top government spokesman after the March disaster, seems strong. Pessimists, though, worry that Edano's zeal is not shared by his boss, Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda. They suspect Noda, who succeeded pro-reform Naoto Kan last September, is far more focused on pushing legislation to raise sales tax to pay for bulging social security costs. The possibility that Noda may decide to call a snap general election -- either in exchange for opposition parties' agreement to his tax reforms or because the opposition blocks those bills in parliament's upper house -- is a big wild card. But with the wind of public opinion at their back, reformers are intent on seizing what might be their last, best chance. "The utilities are very powerful and so reform didn't happen until now," University of Tokyo's Matsumura said. "They have such power that ... any administration would face severe pressure and it is hard to say what will happen. For that very reason, we must make efforts," he said. "If we miss this chance, the next time will be difficult." (Editing by Mark Bendeich) World Japan Related Quotes and News Company Price Related News Tweet this Link this Share this Digg this Email Reprints We welcome comments that advance the story through relevant opinion, anecdotes, links and data. If you see a comment that you believe is irrelevant or inappropriate, you can flag it to our editors by using the report abuse links. Views expressed in the comments do not represent those of Reuters. For more information on our comment policy, see http://blogs.reuters.com/fulldisclosure/2010/09/27/toward-a-more-thoughtful-conversation-on-stories/ Comments (0) Be the first to comment on reuters.com. Add yours using the box above. Edition: U.S. Africa Arabic Argentina Brazil Canada China France Germany India Italy Japan Latin America Mexico Russia Spain United Kingdom Back to top Reuters.com Business Markets World Politics Technology Opinion Money Pictures Videos Site Index Legal Bankruptcy Law California Legal New York Legal Securities Law Support & Contact Support Corrections Advertise With Us Connect with Reuters Twitter Facebook LinkedIn RSS Podcast Newsletters Mobile About Privacy Policy Terms of Use Copyright Our Flagship financial information platform incorporating Reuters Insider An ultra-low latency infrastructure for electronic trading and data distribution A connected approach to governance, risk and compliance Our next generation legal research platform Our global tax workstation Thomsonreuters.com About Thomson Reuters Investor Relations Careers Contact Us Thomson Reuters is the world's largest international multimedia news agency, providing investing news, world news, business news, technology news, headline news, small business news, news alerts, personal finance, stock market, and mutual funds information available on Reuters.com, video, mobile, and interactive television platforms. Thomson Reuters journalists are subject to an Editorial Handbook which requires fair presentation and disclosure of relevant interests. NYSE and AMEX quotes delayed by at least 20 minutes. Nasdaq delayed by at least 15 minutes. For a complete list of exchanges and delays, please click here.

Other News on Saturday, 4 February 2012
Insight: Syria's Assad set for long conflict |
Amid peace bid, U.S. got purported letter from Taliban |
Sudan's Bashir says tensions with South could spark war |
Analysis:Nuclear crisis bolsters Japan push for utilities reform |
Micron CEO Appleton dies in plane crash |
Disagreements on cyber risk East-West Cold War |
Going mobile: Travel's eventual high-tech future |
Radcliffe admits being drunk during Harry Potter scenes |
Bee Gee Robin Gibb makes spectacular recovery |
Over 200 people killed in Syria's Homs before U.N. vote |
Iran threatens retaliation over oil embargo |
Amid peace bid, U.S. got purported letter from Taliban |
Sudan rebels seeking way to hand over abducted Chinese |
Pakistan PM to discuss Afghanistan reconciliation in Qatar |
Cost drives NATO bid for smaller Afghan army |
Romania rescues children as Europe's freeze deepens |
Most Japanese towns undecided on nuclear stress tests: survey |
Bosnia passes laws key to EU bid, Muslims agree to census |
Micron CEO dies in plane crash, industry stunned |
Facebook's high tax rate likely to drop |
Actor Ben Gazzara dead at 81 |
Actor Ben Gazzara dead at 81 |
Star Wars, Ferris Bueller drive Super Bowl ad buzz |
Erotica director Zalman King dies from cancer |
JC Penney stands by Ellen DeGeneres as spokeswoman |
Iran says oil ban will not halt nuclear work |
Russians stage rival protests over Putin |
Egypt clashes ease but protesters determined to fight on |
Heavy weapons rattle northern Mali town, thousands flee |
Afghan Taliban deny Mullah Omar wrote to White House |
Panetta reassures European allies over defense cuts |
Kenya says hits rebel convoy with helicopter gunships |
Militants attack Yemen army base in south |
McCain ruffles Beijing with talk of Chinese Arab Spring |
Radcliffe admits being drunk during Harry Potter scenes |
Greece at new risk of being pushed off euro
Bodies of missing Tenn. mom, Jo Ann Bain, and daughter found
Female Breasts Are Bigger Than Ever
AMD Trinity Accelerated Processing Units Now in Volume Production
The Avengers (2012 film), made the second biggest opening- and single-day gross of all-time
AMD to Start Production of piledriver
Ivy Bridge Quad-Core, Four-Thread Desktop CPUs
Islamists Protest Lady Gaga's Concert in Indonesia
Japan Successfully Broadcasts an 8K Signal Over the Air
ECB boosts loans to 1 trillion Euro to stop credit crunch
Egypt : Mohammed Morsi won with 52 percent
What do you call 100,000 Frenchmen with their hands up
AMD Launches AMD Embedded R-Series APU Platform
Fed Should not Ignore Emerging Market Crisis
Fed casts shadow over India, emerging markets
Why are Chinese tourists so rude? A few insights

USD EUR - 1 year graph		BlogMeter 1.01