Taking advantage of the serious difficulties besetting Tokyo Electric Power Co. (Tepco) since the catastrophe at its Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant, the Democratic Party of Japan government is pushing a series of measures to restructure the outdated way in which the electric power industry operates.
These measures include separation of generation and distribution of electricity, abolition of regional monopolies enjoyed by the power companies, liberalization of retail power distribution and a review of the standard for deciding power rates.
An advisory body for the trade and industry minister began discussions on these and other steps in early February and plans to draw up a report by summer.