Oct 15, 2020
Fukuoka, Oct. 15 (Jiji Press)–A lawsuit was raised on Thursday to challenge state-approved electricity bill surcharges to help cover the costs to compensate for the March 2011 Fukushima nuclear accident and remove tsunami-stricken reactors.
The lawsuit was filed with Fukuoka District Court in southwestern Japan by an electricity retailer established by a group of 15 consumer cooperatives in western to southwestern Japan.
It is the first time such a suit has been filed, according to the plaintiff.
In the lawsuit, the power retailer, called Green Co-op Denki, demands the cancellation of permission for Kyushu Electric Power Transmission and Distribution Co., a subsidiary of power utility Kyushu Electric Power Co. <9508>, to collect the surcharges.
The government revised an industry ministry ordinance in September 2017 for effectuation in July this year to include the costs related to the accident at Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings Inc.’s <9501> Fukushima No. 1 power plant in electric cable usage fees that power retailers pay to suppliers.
