|
 Nearly three years after a devastating earthquake and tsunami hit
the plant, Tokyo Electric (Tepco) is still struggling to contain
radioactive water at the site and turn around its battered finances.
"Paying compensation (to evacuees), decontamination, and the work at
the Fukushima plant; there is a lot of work to be done ... We have
to continue doing this, while maintaining the workers' safety, their
sense of responsibility, duty and keeping up their morale," said
Naomi Hirose in an interview with Reuters on Saturday.
Hirose said if working conditions improve significantly at Fukushima
and worker shortages become no longer a problem, the utility could
consider hiving off the Fukushima decommissioning from the rest of
the business, a suggestion that had been made by policymakers since
the disaster. But for now, Hirose said he remained opposed to such a
scheme.
Japan this week approved a plan by Tepco, Asia's largest utility,
which aims to make savings in costs of $46 billion over 10 years,
upgrade fossil fuel power plants and join alliances with other firms
to procure liquefied natural gas (LNG) more cheaply.
But central to Tepco's revival plan is the restart of the reactors
at Kashiwazaki Kariwa, the world's biggest nuclear power plant, as
early as July, which faces staunch opposition from a local governor
who has repeatedly called for the company's liquidation.
Governor Hirohiko Izumida of Niigata, home to the Kashiwazaki plant
some 300 kilometers (180 miles) northwest of Tokyo, said this week
Tepco's plan does not hold shareholders and banks accountable. He
has also said that Tepco must not be allowed to consider restarting
its other nuclear facilities before a comprehensive review of the
Fukushima disaster.
Tepco also said in its latest revival plan that it may have to raise
electricity prices by as much as 10 percent if Kashiwazaki restarts
are further delayed.
[to top of second column] |
FUKUSHIMA WORKERS
The unprecedented, 30-year decommissioning plan for Fukushima relies
heavily on technological breakthroughs and on Tepco managing to get
enough staff to work there.
Tepco doubled pay for contract workers at the plant to around $200 a
day last year after criticism over its handling of their pay.
Previously a Reuters investigation had found that the pay of some
workers was being skimmed off by sub-contractors, some had been
hired under false pretences, and some contractors had links to
organized crime gangs.
Hirose said Tepco does not permit workers' pay to be skimmed by the
various companies in the chain of contractors operating at
Fukushima, but admitted that verifying whether laborers' wages had
actually been docked or not was complex.
"We did not increase (wages) to give out more money to those (firms)
in the middle. Raising wages from 10,000 yen ($100) to 20,000 yen
was difficult for us ... of course we want the money to reach the
correct place," he said.
($1=104.27 Japanese yen)
(Editing by Greg Mahlich)
[© 2014 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.] Copyright 2014 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
 |
