Of TEPCO's Rates

I received a really disturbing pamphlet the other day from the Tokyo Electric Power Company, or TEPCO for short. As we are all aware by this point, TEPCO is responsible for the Fukushima Daiichi Reactor crisis. Thanks to TEPCO, there are now huge swaths of land in the northern part of Japan that are unusable and will remain so for many decades to come. Most of this land was used as farmland, so Japan's rice and other crops have been severely affected. Although we often hear that the the fish is safe to eat, and not to worry about our food source because the government will prevent tainted products from entering the chain, there is still cause for concern. The government admitted that they found fish containing several hundred times the legal limit off the coast of Japan the other day. Farmers are still forced to dispose of anything that exceeds the legal radiation limit (i.e. beef and milk). Therefore, when I received this little pamphlet the other day, I'll admit I felt feelings of remorse over the crisis yet again and more than a tinge of anger.

For those of you that don't read Japanese, let me briefly summarize what this letter says. 

Information About Your Rising Electric Bill: Thank you for using our company's service. It's been over a year since the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Reactor crisis, and we apologize for troubling everyone. However, in order to clean up the radiation, we will be raising the bill for households by 8.46%. This will take effect immediately from September 1, 2012. We apologize for asking you to help us share the burden. TEPCO is under new management. The government has given permission for this fee to be enacted.

Now, there are a few reasons why this letter raises some concerns. Although households in Japan have known for some time that rates are going to be raised, the process by which TEPCO is going forward with this is unacceptable. Households obviously objected to the rise because TEPCO destroyed the northern part of Japan, and quite frankly, people here would rather they go under trying to fix things. The idea of "sharing the burden" was not left up to consumers, who already have donated massive amounts to the area to help in the rebuilding process. However, TEPCO going under is really not an option; they have been taken over by the government because TEPCO going bankrupt could lead to mass power outages in the Tokyo area. The government already forced TEPCO to diminish its workers' salaries by 30 percent, as well as the salaries of upper management, but that alone isn't going to placate anyone.

The second concern is that TEPCO's letter is the most unapologetic letter I've ever read. It basically conveys a feeling of arrogance. "The government said we can raise rates by this amount, so we will." There is clear lack of responsibility in the accident. If TEPCO truly wants its consumers to respect it again, it"s going to have to do more. We know that this "fee for radiation cleanup" is really a permanent fee that will eventually go to TEPCO's profits. TEPCO's employees are working long hours to try to fix the mess, and honestly, I respect the average worker there. But the upper tiers of management are a mess.

The final thing is that this only emphasizes TEPCO's high-and-mighty attitude. TEPCO has maintained this attitude of victimization the entire time. They were forced to release video about the accident, but they have conveniently "lost" the sound. They claimed there was no sound to begin with, but this is obviously untrue because parts of the video do have sound. This has protected from further government penalties. Knowing this, consumers have gotten so irritated with the company, if there was a way to switch to another electric provider, we would.

The fee only further penalizes people who have been so kind in their donations and volunteer time. Although we will all the pay the fee (businesses will pay a higher fee up to 15%), we certainly do not agree with the company policy itself. Although this often lies unspoken in the hearts and minds of many people here, I felt it was at least important to document it as we wait for further TEPCO nonsense.

Summer Vacation

The concept of summer vacation is not a new one for the United States. It is normally associated with school children finishing their classes for the year and spending a month or two playing in the sun at the pool with friends. There is also the occasional family vacation, something that every kid looks forward to.

In Japan, summer vacation is not limited to students. Companies also engage in the mandatory practice. The time is normally set automatically. Everyone in the company takes a certain time off to go spend time with family. This leads to lots of closed restaurants at this time of year. Normally a skeleton staff will remain to answer phone calls and assist customers. In smaller companies, people will choose their dates and take off accordingly.

Companies normally try to give off during the week of the Obon Festival. This festival is for visiting the family grave. Although it varies slightly by region, it normally occurs in August.

This idea of paid time off is done for a couple reasons. First, it`s mandatory by law. This is to prevent the overworking of employees. Second, it gives everyone some spare time off to take a vacation and relax during the summer heat. Overall, it`s a pretty nice perk.

Current Nuclear Situation

It`s been a while since I`ve written anything that relates to the 3.11 earthquake but I felt like now is a good time. I`m currently stuck inside with a mild case of bronchitis, so this will at least give me something to do.

What`s the current nuclear situation?

There is considerable and understandable resistance to further nuclear power in Japan. Despite this, the Oi reactors have  achieved criticality and are back online. The government is pushing for the restart of further reactors. The reason for this is that without these reactors, Japan would have a severe power shortage. This would lead to unexpected blackouts as Japan nears its hottest days of the year. With a large elderly population, this can`t be allowed to happen or there will be high losses due to heatstroke in homes.

What area has the most severe power shortage?

Right now, that is the Kansai area (Osaka, Kyoto, etc.) Thanks to the Oi reactors, the threat of widespread blackouts has decreased, but people are still being asked to decrease about 10-15% of energy consumption. Tokyo is relatively okay, but companies have become warmer to around 28 degrees Celsius. That`s about 82 degrees Fahrenheit. Plants are still shutting down to conserve energy on days. You`ll see signs everywhere in Japan for energy conservation (setsuden). The lights have been dimmed and certain gates may be closed.

What happened to TEPCO, the company that caused it all?

TEPCO has had most of its shares bought by the government. That means that it is now a government-controlled entity. Although the idea of letting TEPCO fail was tempting, and many people supported the idea, it was not seen as feasible. It could have seriously reduced power to many homes, so the government took over. Nevertheless, TEPCO is now embroiled an a controversial deal to raise rates on all of its consumers to fund reconstruction efforts and recoup losses. It tried to raise rates to 15% for consumers, and I want to say 30% for businesses, but the government said the increase in consumer rates was not permissible. TEPCO has been ordered to cut pay for all of its workers by 30%. It has been approved to raise rates on consumers by 8.47%. It will take effect this month I believe.

How are reconstruction efforts going? 

Reconstruction is going well. Businesses are reopening and allowing tourists to come in. There are still many people living in temporary housing though, and people in the worst hit areas may not be able to return home for another decade or more. People still think about the affected areas and donate money though the donations have slowed as time has passed.

What about the Olympics?

 The Japanese Olympic team has dedicated their performances to the disaster-hit region in an effort to show that Japan can rise from such a terrible tradegy back to the world stage. Around 10 percent of the athletes are from or related to the area through education, etc. I know of at least one story where an athlete was training in the area when the tsunami hit. People are very supportive of the Olympics so far.