Consumers, not TEPCO shareholders, to cover huge compensation bill (JAPAN)

[AsahinaKimi]

Tokyo Electric Power Co. President Masataka Shimizu faces reporters after asking the government for assistance on May 10. (Satoru Iizuka)

Consumers will cover a large portion of the compensation bill for victims of the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant crisis, but the plant operator's shareholders and supporting financial institutions will not be hit hard.

Prime Minister Naoto Kan and his Cabinet were expected to officially approve the damages framework totaling at least 5 trillion yen ($62 billion) on May 12. Approval will enable Tokyo Electric Power Co. to announce its consolidated financial results for fiscal 2010 on May 20.

TEPCO is expected to post a net loss of 700 billion yen to 800 billion yen for fiscal 2010.

The company's results will also include an extraordinary loss of about 1 trillion yen for waste disposal related to the ongoing nuclear crisis.

The utility is expected to pay about 200 billion yen in compensation annually, plus about 1 trillion yen per year to operate thermal power plants after suspending operations at nuclear power plants.

http://www.asahi.com/english/TKY201105120190.html

[Hannah Bell]

1. that was predictable. the rich never pay for anything.

[Fumesucker]

2. Yeah, I bet you can find lots of pundits who predicted this..

Oh.. Wait...

[Hannah Bell]

3. that consumers pay for nuclear & chemical accidents?

gee, one look at history tells the tale.

one way or another, consumers & ordinary taxpayers pay.

(i misunderstood your drift for a moment but ill let the comment stand)

[Fumesucker]

4. I suspect this might be one of those situations where George Will was wrong..

http://www.alternet.org/newsandviews/article/584060/new_report_shows_right-wing_pundits_mostly_wrong/

The worst performer is uber-pundit George Will.

[Hannah Bell]

5. lol. is there any other situation?

i once had a soft spot in my heart for george will. because he once wrote a moving essay about his handicapped child. no matter what crap he spouted i'd think "but he loves his handicapped child".

years later i read how he'd shucked off his wife & handicapped child & i thought "i sure am a gullible sap".

[Fumesucker]

6. Yeah, I'm a made cynic rather than a born one myself..

Too much dirty water under the bridge..

[Hannah Bell]

7. we're all made cynics. that's why kids are so much fun to be around.

shuck off that carapace & turn that frown upside down.

[Fumesucker]

8. I'm sitting here with a dog on my lap and another one on my chest..

It ain't so bad..

[Hannah Bell]

9. :>)