Tepco Said to Seek 2 Trillion Yen in Loans to Stay Solvent

Tokyo Electric Power Co. is in talks with banks to borrow as much as 2 trillion yen ($26 billion) to help stave off bankruptcy as it compensates survivors of the Fukushima nuclear disaster and decommissions reactors, according to two people with knowledge of the talks.

Three Japanese banks and the state-run Nuclear Damage Liability Facilitation Fund are negotiating with the utility known as Tepco, the people said. The loans are contingent on Tepco raising electricity rates, accepting a capital injection from the fund and restarting reactors. The unidentified banks would lend 1 trillion yen to Tepco and 1 trillion yen to the fund, which would use the money to buy the utility’s shares to get voting rights, the people said.