TEPCO

Officials at Tokyo Electric, known as Tepco, said the jump was likely due to a shift in the direction of the wind.

A Tepco spokesman said the smoke seemed to be ebbing as of Tuesday evening local time, while the steam had become barely visible.

Tepco later said the pool of water had been contaminated but the extremely high reading was a mistake.

TEPCO cannot see whether these have been the site of any sort of meltdown, because there is too much debris piled on top.

But Mr Edano said the radiation levels outside the plant , operated by Tokyo Electric Power (Tepco), did not pose a major health threat .

Tepco had to put the operation on hold for a time when another tsunami was predicted, but work recommence after the all-clear.

TEPCO said the fire has had no impact on radiation levels around the plant or on the plant's cooling systems.

Critics of Tepco, the company at the heart of the Fukushima nuclear accident, say its actual capacity is higher than it lets on.

Tepco spokesman said the sample had been taken just beyond the cement containment foundation of reactor No. 1 at a depth of about 15 meters.

Even some of the analysts who cover Tepco say that they have had little sense of Mr. Shimizu as a top manager.

But a Tepco spokesman said the company didn't think the water had penetrated the plant buildings' floors into the ground.

Tepco, the plant's owner and operator, said the latest quake did not cause any significant new damage.

A Tepco spokesman said the company takes all required safety measures and has built-in backup systems to handle contingencies.

Some of them say the company, known as Tepco, had opportunities over the decades to retrofit the oldest reactors.

Tepco said the two workers died about an hour after the earthquake, most likely from injuries sustained at the time of the disaster.

Tepco didn't know when it would be able to begin the pumping, he said.

Tepco said the water would have to be drained before work to restart the internal cooling systems could be carried out.

A Tepco spokesman said the observed increase might be due to a faulty gauge, and workers would investigate further.

A spokesman for Tepco said the utility would also add dye to the water to determine where it was flowing.

TEPCO had been operating three out of six reactors at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant at the time of the quake, all of which shut down.

'The minister asked that those plans [from Tepco] be analyzed by our experts, which I said we would do, ' she said.

What the press release actually said was that some of TEPCO's periodic equipment checks were behind schedule, said the spokesman.

Tepco said it had not made significant alterations to its timeline.

Experts say many are unlikely ever to be allowed to go back and Tepco is expected to face steep compensation bills for years.

"When I meet with TEPCO officials, I don't see any change in mindset; it's as if nothing has changed, " sighs a nuclear-energy official.

Both men feel brave enough to stick their heads up because, as technology bosses, they do not rely on TEPCO the way other industrialists do.

He said that Tokyo Electric Power Co. , or Tepco, has so far prepared 50 billion yen ($600 million) in cash for preliminary compensation.

To be fair to TEPCO, which has been getting all the bad press lately, it at least appears to be aware of how serious the threats are.

Among the growing complaints, TEPCO was accused of ignoring warnings that the Fukushima plant was in a precarious location.

Tepco said the condenser, which dated from the plant's construction, worked after the quake but eventually stopped.

Tepco's attempt to impart information has left the public mostly confused and incredulous.

Tepco damaged its reputation badly several years ago when it was found to have faked safety data relating to cracks in its nuclear plants.

Both Tepco and its regulators have been criticized for a faltering response to the latest crisis.

His subsequent decision to head a joint taskforce with Tepco appears to be an admission that the cabinet needs to take more control.

TEPCO is already now under intense scrutiny to see whether it cut corners on safety prior to the disaster.

Tokyo Electric Power, known as Tepco, would be required to pay back the fund over time.

Officials at Tepco said they were exploring ways to put pumps at the site despite the water's radioactivity.

Tepco said none of those affected have showed signs of ill health, but added that they would need long-term monitoring.

Anger at the ever changing assessments of the radiation dangers and advice has so far been directed at Tepco.

Visiting U. S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said her Japanese counterpart had asked for the U. S. to evaluate Tepco's proposal.

Tokyo's economists estimated that TEPCO needs at least 10 trillion yen to deal with the nuclear crisis.

Japan's Cabinet on June 14 approved a plan to help TEPCO compensate residents for the trouble caused during the ongoing nuclear crisis.

A Tepco spokesman declined to comment on the issue specifically, saying in general the company is in contact with the government.

At a 6 a. m. media briefing, a Tepco spokesman said seawater was one cooling option.

But later Kyodo news agency quoted Tepco as saying radiation levels around the plant had risen above permissible limits.

Two workers of a 'cooperative firm' were injured, said Tepco; one with a broken bone.

Tepco was able to reduce the temperature and pressure inside the reactor, the nuclear-safety agency said.

Tepco said the cracked chamber, which is about two meters deep, contains roughly 20 centimeters of highly contaminated water.

On Sunday morning, Tokyo Electric Power (Tepco) revealed that the cooling system of a second reactor had failed.

Our two busloads of journalists and Tokyo Electric Power Company (Tepco) employees entered Daiichi through a checkpoint.

He said Tepco will take direction from the government in determining how damages should be paid.

TEPCO shares continued to tumble on Wednesday, already having hit a 60-year low on Tuesday.

Tepco on Tuesday said the temperature at the Daiichi plant's reactors No 5 and 6 had risen above normal levels.

On Wednesday, the president of plant operator Tepco was hospitalized for dizziness, offering the latest sign of leadership trouble.

In a weekend briefing, Tepco Managing Director Akio Komori cited the elevation of the backup generators as one potential issue.

Early Tuesday, Tepco said radioactive substances exceeding the normal levels set by Japan were detected in seawater near the Daiichi plant.

Without a way to pump large quantities into the plant, Tepco suffered a daily parade of disasters in the early days.

It should be acknowledged that, for the customer, Tepco is not a bad company.

Apologising for the lack of preparedness, an official for the operator Tepco said some of the reactor buildings remained uncovered.

A Tepco spokesman said he didn't have information about why it stopped working.

' 'Tepco will respond to growing demand for nuclear power generation around the world, ' it quoted Mr. Shimizu as saying.

TEPCO said 2, 800 tons of radioactive water had been pumped into the sea from a temporary storage facility by Tuesday morning.

However, for the time being, we hope that TEPCO will work to deal with compensation without having to pass on costs to electrical fees.

Tepco employee who was unable to stand and grasping his left chest was taken to hospital.

In return for state help, Tepco will have to cut costs and turn its management over to the government "for a certain period of time" .

By 5: 30 a. m. he was at a Tepco conference room, shouting at the company's executives, according to the aides.

As TEPCO's compensation liabilities mount, Mr Kan is airing the once-unthinkable suggestion that it should be broken up.

He also said Tepco has 'made great progress in terms of disclosure' about their operations.

'We have to wait for Tepco to come to us and request help, ' said Tetsuya Kono, a ministry of defense spokesman.

Tepco has been unable to identify its source, but said that radiation readings at the plant have not risen noticeably.

All this will be a reason to judge TEPCO severely.

Early on Saturday Tepco said it had lost the ability to control pressure at the No. 1 and 2 reactors.

Tepco officials said they didn't know why the concrete or other fixes had failed to plug the crack.

But with those systems taken out by the disaster, Tepco has had to pour in outside water that becomes contaminated and then leaks out.

That timetable is consistent with a plan Tokyo Electric Power Company announced one month ago.

All this is unfolding while Tepco continues to try and bring the nuclear power plant under control.

As TEPCO has regained control of its reactors, people have been trickling back.

TEPCO, the Tokyo regional power company, has been able to bring online more power plants than it anticipated initially.

TEPCO and Japan's nuclear industry as a whole have been criticised for attempting to cover up accidents in the past.

In April, Tepco said it would reduce radiation leaks by this month and achieve cold shutdown by January.

Tepco confidently built six nuclear reactors the Fukushima complex overlooking a fault zone, where earthquakes and tsunamis can happen.

But a Tepco spokesman said shortly after the statement was released that the reading may have been in error and would be reviewed.

Emergency-related costs could grow depending on how the repair work progresses, Tepco said.

Toru Ishida, a former energy official with the ministry that regulates nuclear power, landed a senior position advising Tepco this year.

It also quoted nuclear engineers who concluded from data released by TEPCO that coolant systems must have failed shortly after the quake.

Equity investors are the ones who would take the biggest hit if Tepco is effectively nationalized.

Millions of households remain without power or adequate supplies of natural gas. TEPCO has suspended plans to impose rolling blackouts.

It would establish a mechanism for the government to channel truckloads of money to TEPCO, which the firm would then pass on to the victims.

Tepco said at a news conference in Tokyo that pressure inside the containment vessel of the No. 3 reactor began rising Saturday evening.

It says that NISA warned TEPCO about its failure to inspect critical machinery at the plant, including recirculation pumps.

Bankers say they could also add more emergency loans if Tepco is shut out of the bond market.

He blames Tepco and regulators for a narrow-minded focus on nuclear power generation.

When Tepco executives decided on Tuesday to hold a news conference the following day, Mr. Shimizu was scheduled to participate.

This would be repaid from TEPCO's earnings, with help from other nuclear operators.

Four months ago, TEPCO was the cornerstone of corporate Japan.

Tepco officials have been pumping seawater with boron in a last-ditch effort to bring temperatures down to prevent an outright meltdown.

Another reckons that the new entity might buy fresh bonds that TEPCO could issue to meet its obligations.

Like the banks, Tepco has assumed that, if anything goes badly wrong, the government will stand behind it.

Officials, heads bowed, apologise in whispers for the trouble Tokyo Electric Power (TEPCO) has caused.

Tepco later said pressure stabilized, averting need for a release.

The plan asks that Tepco make no dividend payments to shareholders until compensation payments are complete, the Nikkei said.

Combined with other water spraying by military units, the operation helped Tepco begin to restore power to the reactors.

Both Tepco and government officials had good reason not to use saltwater, Mr. Omoto added.

Top government spokesman Yukio Edano acknowledged that Tepco's plans were feasible, but warned there could be unforeseen setbacks.

On Sunday, Tsunehisa Katsumata, Tepco's chairman, suggested that top executives would resign over the accident.

Tepco may look different after the crisis: top managers are likely to lose their jobs and there will be debate about how it is regulated.

Many politicians believe that TEPCO must be preserved so it can compensate the victims of the nuclear accident at Fukushima.

The lack of disclosure of data at certain reactors has become a point of contention at Tepco's briefings with reporters.

TEPCO is still exploring ways to make sure the seal is permanent.

On Nov. 26, 2008, Tepco reported that water oozed from the casing of two valves in the hydraulic system used in control rods.

TEPCO spokesman told reporters that a worker had found water coming into one of the pits of the No 3 reactor by the ocean.

Tepco and a top regulator ruled out direct leakage from the plant.

A restructuring should include a disposal of Tepco's grid to facilitate a split between generation and distribution.

Though everyone is really trying their best, most of the Tepco guys in head office are clueless about what's going on.

After Thursday's quake, TEPCO officials said there were no signs of new damage to the Fukushima plant.

The cost of protection against a default on Tepco bonds has risen about tenfold since before the quake.

GE said any flaws at the Fukushima reactors weren't its fault because Tepco was in charge of design changes.

In the crucial hours after the tsunami, TEPCO failed to add water to cool the reactor cores.

Tepco's other plants also exposed their workers to higher doses of radiation than most other big Japanese operators.

The plutonium that Tepco reported Monday was found after workers tested five sites around the plant on March 21 and 22.

One, the information passed out by the government and Tokyo Electric Power (TEPCO), which owns the Dai-ichi plant, may be unreliable.

Tepco executives have acknowledged they weren't aware for hours of the severity of the crisis.

A Tepco spokesman confirmed the remarks, adding that a full probe will have to wait while workers try to bring the reactors under control.

Since an earthquake in March caused a meltdown, TEPCO faces unlimited demands for compensation.

Subcontractors working for TEPCO reportedly complained about the safety of their workers on site.

Government and Tepco officials reported only modest gains Friday in controlling the plant.

Tepco replaced the pump, and normal cooling operations resumed by Thursday afternoon.

Tepco still needs to turn on cooling systems.

Update 6: The owner of the plant, TEPCO, says the reactor pressure is rising, and there are risks of a radiation leak, according to Reuters.

Tepco said that for reactor No. 2, repairs will have to be undertaken before it can be filled with water.

After the Tepco officials returned to their company office, the prime minister followed them a short time later as dawn rose.

Even so, one must ask why the government has not been better at extracting information from Tepco.

With all these problems, it is no wonder TEPCO's shares fell to a 47-year low on Tuesday.

The accompanying chart, describing usage in TEPCO's service region, explains why.

From the prime minister's office, Mr. Kaieda called Tepco executives hourly to check on progress.

The power cables to Reactors No. 1 and 2 are now connected and the plan is to restore power supply some time Sunday, said a Tepco spokesman.

The pooling radioactive water raises pressing new questions for the government and Tepco about how to dispose of it.

Operators at Tokyo Electric Power Co (Tepco) are still working to control the situation at one of their plants.

The plant is so woefully damaged that TEPCO officials cannot say when the crisis will be over.

TEPCO wrongly measured radiated waters in one of the turbine halls at 10m times normal level, rather than the still-alarming 100, 000 times.

TEPCO is scheduled to release a review of its shutdown plan on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, bad weather has delayed TEPCO's plans to limit the spread of radiation from the plant.

Tepco engineers now believe the tsunami knocked out most, if not all, of the batteries, according to documents from Tepco on Monday.

But the cost of credit protection on Tepco debt has soared.

Tepco spokesman Takeshi Makigami said: "What robots can do is limited, so eventually, people must enter the buildings. "

But apart from sporadic protests against TEPCO in the past week, they have yet to make their voices heard above the petty politicians.

If TEPCO goes bust, these people take precedence over those affected by the disaster, a fact that is politically radioactive.

'There is absolutely no retreat for your folks, ' Mr. Kan told Tepco executives, according to Kan aides.

Tepco and the government later said they underestimated the potential impact of an earthquake on the facility.

Japanese media have suggested the government might nationalise Tepco or is preparing to inject capital into the utility.

By contrast, at Tepco and other utilities, it's common to temporarily remove all the fuel rods.

On Wednesday, 20 government officials also moved into Tepco's Tokyo offices, according to a company official.

A separate storage pool for spent fuel rods also is drawing the attention of some Tepco and safety officials.

But Tepco has done wonders at maintaining a stable electricity supply.

A top TEPCO official acknowledged it could take a long time to clean up the complex.

In truth, the survival of dinosaurs like TEPCO owes more to their political clout than the quality of service they deliver.

But he thought the government, and even Tepco, was doing all it could.

But it has since been falling steadily, according to TEPCO.

Tanaka said that according to TEPCO's own data, emergency water-circulation equipment started up automatically shortly after the quake.

TEPCO sees them as soldiers. "We don't think they are heroes. They are doing what they should, " an official says.

Tepco has faced intense pressure to explain how, and when, it will end the crisis.

Second, to ensure that Tepco's financial restructuring is safe.

Some think TEPCO should be put through bankruptcy while at the same time Tokyo's energy market should be opened to more competition.

Tepco says the tsunami paralyzed all but one backup generator.

Tepco said four workers at the site were injured in the explosion.

Failure to intervene would underline how Tepco, along with Japan's other power utilities, continues to intimidate the government.

Tepco is scheduled to provide an update on progress on Tuesday.

"There is lots of discussion about nationalisation, but I will do my best to ensure Tepco remains as a private company, " said Mr Katsumata.

Other officials were non-committal about state intervention, but TEPCO shares have fallen by over 75% since March 11th.

Tepco said cooling systems at the No. 5 and No. 6 reactors were working, offering a boost to recovery efforts.

Tepco is shielded by a lack of media scrutiny.

His fellow top seven managers have worked together continuously at Tepco since 1974.

Tepco has repeatedly called the combined disaster an event "beyond expectations. "

Yet TEPCO may have pulled off a rare public-relations coup.

Yet companies like TEPCO have still struggled to build new plants in the teeth of local opposition, Mr Scalise says.

The Hitachi group has sent 120 people to the plant at Tepco's request, many from subsidiary Hitachi Plant Technologies Ltd.

But Tepco has been afflicted by moral hazard behind the scenes.

Tepco is planning to send robots to take measurements inside the No 2 reactor later on Monday.

Units 1 and 3 are currently in a stable condition according to TEPCO press releases, but the extent of the fuel damage is unknown.

Tepco's shares suffered a third day of losses on Wednesday, plunging 17 per cent to Y466, their lowest level in nearly half a century.

In 2007, an earthquake heavily damaged Tepco's Kashiwazaki-Kariwa plant.

Third, many of Tepco's bondholders are banks, and some worry that restructuring would threaten financial stability.

Tepco didn't disclose further details on the exact cause of the worker's death.

Tepco workers couldn't hook the generators to the plant's damaged main switches.

Tepco had said it planned to begin the procedure Sunday.

Tepco and industry officials couldn't be reached Thursday night to comment.

Noriyuki Shikata, a spokesman for Japan's cabinet, said, 'We do not see any need to change this structure and nationalize Tepco. '

According to Mr Shimizu, Tepco would like "as soon as possible" to outline a timetable for bringing the four damaged reactors under control.

Separately, Tepco is releasing 1, 500 tons of water that have been collecting in soil under reactors Nos. 5-6 due to seepage.

Experts have criticised Tepco for being too slow to vent pent-up gas outside the plant.

Tepco's own reputation is also at rock bottom and may not recover.

The three were laying a cable in a turbine building attached to No 3 reactor, Tepco said.

Doses of 1, 000 millisieverts per hour were detected in the water, Tepco and nuclear safety officials said.

Tepco didn't begin using seawater at other reactors until Sunday.

But because of the high level of radiation inside the reactor buildings, Tepco didn't give a time frame for when this can be done.

Tepco workers also plugged a leak last week from reactor No. 2, which was releasing highly radioactive water into the sea.

Tepco declared the reactors stable in December 2011.

Radiation at the Fukushima plant briefly hit 8, 217 micro sievert per hour, Tepco said.

On March 15, Tepco, requested 10 GE truck-mounted gas turbines, which can offer temporary power.

Then in 2002, Tepco was caught falsifying safety data.

Tepco says, with attention to finickety detail, that it has accumulated a mountain of 480, 000 such suits in need of disposal.

It is hard to know what compensation Tepco will owe to those affected by its reactor meltdowns.

Since the government holds the purse-strings, it can more or less dictate terms to TEPCO.

More fundamentally, both Tepco and the government are on the same side.

At 6: 50 a. m. , he formally ordered Tepco to vent, still without result.

Another 224 workers were sent in from what Tepco calls 'cooperating companies, ' such as Tokai Toso.

"We don't have any contact with the Tepco engineers or technicians, " he says.

According to Tepco, nearly 27, 000 tons of water in total was pumped into the most heavily damaged reactors Nos.

The issue for Tepco is whether it can survive this crisis intact.

In addition to the meter-deep standing water at reactor No. 3, Tepco reported a half-meter or less at units 1 and 3.

A military spokesman said forces didn't move in because they weren't requested by Tepco.

The councillor shows a Tepco gagging order that one local boss had to sign.

TEPCO then began discharging water that night.

Atomic energy accounted for 30 per cent of Tepco's supply last year, but only 20 per cent of its installed capacity.

If the quake did cause the damage, it could call into question the resilience of TEPCO's other nuclear installations in Japan.

Tepco has said its plant wasn't built to withstand a tsunami and the strongest quake in Japan's recorded history.

In TEPCO's region (around Tokyo), peak usage fell to 49 gigawatts, from 60 gigawatts last year.

Tepco tried to cool the reactor with fresh water, but it was forced to switch to seawater in the afternoon.

The lights at the headquarters of the Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) were largely switched off;

He blames TEPCO for storing too much spent fuel on the site;

Security Design for TEPCo'S Client Service System

When I meet with TEPCO officials, I don't see any change in mindset;

TEPCO Tokyo Electric Power Co. , Japan

Tepco to pay farmers for losses