Chubu Electric given business improvement order over data scandal

The industry ministry on Friday issued a business improvement order to Chubu Electric Power over a data manipulation scandal involving the company’s improper selection of earthquake data for safety screenings for the restart of reactors at its nuclear power plant in Shizuoka Prefecture.

It was the fourth time that a major electric utility has received such an order under the electricity business law.

The ministry ordered the company to submit an improvement plan by the end of this month, calling on Chubu Electric to clarify the responsibilities of its executives and employees.

Yoshifumi Murase, commissioner of the Agency for Natural Resources and Energy, summoned Chubu Electric President Minoru Yasui to the ministry and strongly urged the company to carry out fundamental reforms and do everything possible to restore public trust.

“We deeply regret (the scandal),” Yasui told reporters.

Industry minister Ryosei Akazawa told a news conference that the ministry will “continue to respond as strictly as possible.”

Chubu Electric also improperly claimed costs for the decommissioning of the No. 1 and No. 2 reactors at the Hamaoka nuclear power plant.

In addition, a power retail subsidiary of the company overcharged customers for electricity.

Citing these scandals, the ministry concluded that Chubu Electric lacked sufficient awareness of the importance of legal compliance and had an unhealthy corporate culture.

The ministry called on the company to eliminate the insular nature of its highly specialized nuclear power division and appoint personnel from outside the company.

In January, Chubu Electric disclosed that it had improperly selected data on anticipated earthquakes for safety screenings for the planned restart of the No. 3 and No. 4 reactors at the nuclear plant.

A company investigation committee said in a report released in September that a “unique theory of justification” had taken hold within the utility, under which an early restart of the reactors was given top priority.

Then-Chubu Electric President Kingo Hayashi and other executives resigned to take responsibility for the scandal. The company also withdrew its applications for safety screenings for the No. 3 and No. 4 reactors by Japan’s Nuclear Regulation Authority.