Tepco Buys 15 Percent More Fuel Oil as Reactors Remain Shut

Tokyo Electric Power Co. purchased 15 percent more fuel oil in January than a year ago to run thermal-power plants that are providing a greater share of the nation’s energy since the Fukushima nuclear disaster.

The utility known as Tepco bought 756,000 kiloliters, or 153,000 barrels a day, of fuel oil last month, up from 656,000 kiloliters a year ago, according to data released today on its website.

Tepco’s coal purchases rose 6 percent to 250,000 metric tons last month from a year ago, the company said. Liquefied natural gas imports declined 3 percent to 2.15 million tons, while crude buying dipped 0.6 percent.

All but two of Japan’s 50 functioning nuclear reactors are offline for safety checks after the Fukushima disaster in 2011. Tepco, Japan’s biggest utility, has operated no nuclear reactors since it halted the No. 6 unit at its Kashiwazaki Kariwa atomic station in northwest Japan’s Niigata prefecture in March 2012.

The following table shows Tepco’s consumption and purchases of fuel oil, crude, LNG and coal for January. For fuel oil and crude, the volume is in kiloliters while LNG and coal are in metric tons.

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                   January 2013               Change on year
CONSUMPTION
Fuel oil             833,000                       12.6%
Crude                334,000                       -7.7%
LNG                2,127,000                        0.6%
Coal                 287,000                      -22.8%


PURCHASE
Fuel oil             756,000                       15.2%
Crude                333,000                       -0.6%
LNG                2,152,000                       -2.9%
Coal                 250,000                        6.4%
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Source: Tokyo Electric Power Co.

To contact the reporter on this story: Jacob Adelman in Tokyo at jadelman1@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Alexander Kwiatkowski at akwiatkowsk2@bloomberg.net