The government plans to order two regional utilities to trim their planned household electricity rate hikes, possibly by about 2 percentage points, believing the firms can cut costs further, sources said Wednesday.
The move came after the government, together with energy experts, studied the plan submitted by Kansai Electric Power Co. to hike rates by an average of 11.88 percent and Kyushu Electric Power Co.'s plan for an 8.51 percent increase from April 1.
Considering the procedures necessary to revise the plans under the envisioned government order, the rate hikes are expected to take effect from May 1.