Tokyo (Platts)--30Apr2012/636 am EDT/1036 GMT

Japan's three major power utilities reported Friday record net losses for fiscal 2011-12 (April-March) as a result of increased fossil fuels costs in the wake of nuclear outages.

Kansai Electric, Japan's second-largest power utility, posted a record net loss of Yen 242.3 billion ($3 billion) in fiscal 2011-12, compared with a Yen 123.1 billion a year earlier. The Osaka-based power utility's revenues, however, rose 1.5% year on year to Yen 2.811 trillion.

Kansai Electric's previous record net loss was in fiscal 2008-09 at Yen 8.7 billion.

Kansai Electric declined to give any estimates for its income for the 2012-13 fiscal year because of the uncertainty surrounding its nuclear restarts.

Kansai Electric consumed 54.6% more LNG, three times as much crude and fuel oil, and 77% more fossil fuels in fiscal 2011-12 than previously planned.

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The official added that the volumes of LNG and fossil fuels used in 2011-12 were a record high for the company.

In fiscal 2011-12, the western Japanese power utility burnt 6.6 million mt of LNG and 4.5 billion liters (28.3 million barrels) of crude and fuel oil, up from its original plan of 4.27 million mt of LNG and 1.04 billion liters.

The company temporarily shut the last operating reactor at its Takahama nuclear power plant in western Japan on February 20 for a scheduled maintenance program February 20. This left Kansai Electric with just its fossil fuel plants for generating power.

The shutdown of the 870 MW No. 3 Takahama nuclear reactor meant that Kansai Electric lost total output from its nuclear power plants for the first time in more than 32 years. Kansai Electric currently has a combined nuclear capacity of 9.768 GW across 11 units, which have been all been shut.

CHUBU, TOHOKU ELECTRIC RESULTS

Chubu Electric, Japan's third-largest power utility, posted a record net loss of Yen 92.2 billion in the fiscal year ended March 31, compared with a net profit of Yen 84.6 billion a year earlier.

The Nagoya-based power utility reported a 5.1% year-on-year increase in its revenue to Yen 2.449 trillion.

Chubu Electric's previous record net loss was in fiscal 2008-09 at Yen 18.9 billion.

Chubu Electric declined to give any estimates for its income for the 2012-13 fiscal year because of its inability to forecast its supply and demand balance in the absence of nuclear operations.

Chubu Electric doubled its oil purchase and hiked its LNG procurements by 54.4% from an initial plan for fiscal 2011-12, as a result of the complete nuclear outage at its sole Hamaoka plant in central Japan.

Chubu Electric's crude and fuel oil purchase volume was 1.6 billion liters, double of its initial plan released a year ago of 730 million liters for fiscal 2011-12.

Chubu Electric bought around 13 million mt LNG in 2011-12, up 54.4% from its initial plan of 8.42 million mt.

The Nagoya-based power utility raised consumption of fuel at its thermal power plants, after suspending operations at its Hamaoka nuclear power plant in May in response to a request from then prime minister Naoto Kan due to concerns that the plant may not be sufficiently earthquake- and tsunami-proof.

Tohoku Electric also posted a record net loss of Yen 231.9 billion in fiscal 2011-12, surpassing its previous record loss of Yen 33.7 billion a year earlier.

Tohoku Electric posted revenues of Yen 1.685 trillion in the fiscal year ended March 31, down 1.4% from a year earlier.

Tohoku Electric reported the previous highest-ever annual loss in fiscal 2010-11 after it had reported Yen 109.3 billion extraordinary loss from the March 11 earthquake.

Tohoku Electric consumed three times more fuel oil and crude, and 72% more LNG in fiscal 2011-12 than previously planned.

In the fiscal year running from April 1, 2011 to March 31, 2012, the power utility in northeastern Japan used 4.811 million mt of LNG, 1.016 billion liters of fuel oil, and 724 million liters of crude, up from its original plan of 2.79 million mt of LNG, 384 million liters of fuel oil and 183 million liters of crude.

Tohoku Electric's 2.17 GW Onagawa nuclear plant in the northeast was damaged when a major earthquake and tsunami struck Japan March 11, 2011. The plant has been shut for repairs ever since with no clear restart date.

--Hong Chou Hui, chou_hui_hong@platts.com
--Takeo Kumagai, takeo_kumagai@platts.com

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