TEPCO Posts $5.8 Billion Q1 Loss on Fukushima Decommissioning Costs

Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings (TEPCO) reported a net loss of approximately 857.7 billion yen ($5.8 billion) for the April-June quarter of 2025, marking its largest quarterly loss since the 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster. The loss was driven primarily by an extraordinary charge of about 903 billion yen related to preparatory work for the removal of nuclear fuel debris, a complex phase in decommissioning the Fukushima Daiichi plant, with costs expected to continue for 12 to 15 years and potentially rise further once full-scale retrieval begins. Despite the net loss, TEPCO recorded a 2.9% increase in operating profit to 64.7 billion yen on sales of 1.43 trillion yen, though overall sales declined by 4.5%. The company also faces uncertainties due to the delayed full-scale removal of fuel debris, now projected to begin in fiscal 2037 or later, and an unclear timeline for restarting the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa Nuclear Power Station, complicating future financial forecasts. TEPCO has allocated about 700 billion yen for future demolition work and continues to manage ongoing nuclear damage compensations and recovery expenses linked to the Great East Japan Earthquake. These developments underscore the significant financial and operational challenges TEPCO faces as it continues its long-term decommissioning and recovery efforts.