Japanese power and gas utilities said Thursday they will raise charges in October due to oil price hikes and the yen's depreciation.
All of the nation's 10 regional power utilities and three of the four major gas utilities announced that their monthly charges in the October-December quarter will rise by 54 yen to 201 yen from the previous quarter for a standard four-member family.
Power and gas utilities review charges based on quarterly changes in crude oil prices and exchange rates.
The October-December charges are based on costs for the April-June quarter, when yen-denominated crude oil import prices rose 25 percent from the January-March quarter due to international oil price hikes and the yen's depreciation. The price of liquefied natural gas also rose by 6 percent during the three-month period.
Tokyo Electric Power Co. put its standard monthly charge hike at 91 yen, the largest ever for the firm since the quarterly charge review system was introduced in 1996. Tepco's counterparts in Hokkaido, Shikoku, Kyushu and the Tohoku and Chugoku regions also plan record hikes.
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