Japan is now using only 8 percent of its nuclear generation capacity, as Tokyo Electric Power Co. shut down another reactor for scheduled maintenance Tuesday. Other news from the last week related to the accident at TEPCO’s tsunami-drenched Fukushima Daiichi plant includes:

Cash Injection Could Result in TEPCO Nationalization

Debris removal at Fukushima unit 4 pictured on Jan. 5. Source: TEPCOThe Yomiuri Shimbun newspaper and other sources reported Thursday that the Japanese government is planning a $12.8 billion capital injection that could effectively nationalize the struggling utility. Reports indicate the funding would be underwritten by the country’s Nuclear Damage Liability Facilitation Fund. That would be followed by another $12.8 billion loan package from a group of banks – an amount equal to what TEPCO has said it will need to pay compensation to victims of the accident while continuing to provide electricity to its massive customer base. The liability fund is negotiating to take control of the company by acquiring two thirds of TEPCO’s shareholder voting rights, which TEPCO’s management opposes. Before that happens, TEPCO shareholders would need to approve an increase in share capital at their annual meeting in June. Reuters quoted an unnamed source as saying the plan aims to keep TEPCO under state control for 10 years, paying back the government by raising equity after issuing bonds in four or five years.

Japan Down to Four Operating Reactors

Only four of Japan’s 54 power reactors are now online after TEPCO idled unit 5 at its Kashiwazaki-Kariwa plant on Tuesday for five months of maintenance and inspections. Of TEPCO’s 17 reactors, Kyodo reported that only one is in service, and all will be shut down once Kashiwazaki-Kariwa unit 6 begins a maintenance outage in March. In addition to the four severely damaged units at Fukushima, unit 1 at Japan Atomic Power Co.’s Tokai Daini plant also was damaged by the earthquake and tsunami last March. Japan is tightening its safety requirements, and some of the idled reactors have undergone “stress tests” to evaluate their readiness for severe accidents. Additionally, as Japanese reactors have gone down for maintenance in the last year, many have had trouble acquiring the local approvals needed to restart, which economists have warned could provoke electricity shortages and damage to the Japanese economy.