Utilities cry foul at moves to deregulate electricity market (JAPAN)

[AsahinaKimi]

Electric power companies are alarmed that their efforts--dating back to the 1990s--to protect lucrative regional monopolies may be threatened as the government again pushes to sever the link between power generation and transmission.

In the past, when the government made a move to deregulate the industry, the power companies fought back tooth and nail, claiming any deviation from the status quo could threaten the stable supply of electricity in Japan.

There are 10 electric utilities that hold monopolies over the regions they serve.

The latest proposal became fodder for public discussion after Koichiro Genba, national policy minister, mentioned the issue on a TV news show May 15.

He said: "We aren't going to stand in the way of separating electric power generation and transmission just because we've settled on a framework to compensate victims" of the crisis at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant, run by Tokyo Electric Power Co.

http://www.asahi.com/english/TKY201105180148.html