The industry ministry is planning to demand that new power industry entrants shoulder a portion of the compensation payments stemming from the crisis at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant and to do the same for any future nuclear accidents, sources said Wednesday.
The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry also intends to introduce a system to allow Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings Inc. to steadily accumulate funds necessary for decommissioning Fukushima No. 1, the sources said.
Since the system allows Tepco to effectively pass on the decommissioning cost in utility bills, METI's plan means the burden of the nuclear crisis aftermath will be shouldered by new utilities and by power users in the form of higher bills or reduced price cuts.