Kansai Electric Power Co. plans to tap the rest of its ¥150 billion reserve fund to offset swelling fuel costs, sources said Saturday.

The move by the utility, which serves Osaka and surrounding areas, would deplete the fund, which stood at ¥640 billion in March 2011, just before the Fukushima nuclear disaster forced other utilities to revert to thermal power generation, the sources said.

The plan is set to be proposed at a Kepco general shareholders' meeting in June, they added.