The government revised accounting rules Tuesday for utilities to prevent their business from deteriorating abruptly if they decommission nuclear reactors earlier than planned.
Power firms are required to set aside reserves for scrapping each of their reactors while they are still in service. The new rules allow them to continue to recoup the funds through electricity rates for up to 10 years beyond the end of a reactor's operational life.
According to an industry ministry official, the rules are likely to be first applied to reactors 5 and 6 of the Fukushima No. 1 complex, which the government recently urged Tokyo Electric Power Co. to scrap in addition to the stricken reactors 1 to 4.