Tokyo Electric Power Co. posted a group net loss Tuesday of ¥571.7 billion for the three months from April due to costs to stabilize the radiation-emitting Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant and increases in fuel expenses for thermal power generation.
The loss dwarfed the ¥5.4 billion shortfall in the same period last year.
Tepco's earnings outlook remains unclear amid the ongoing crisis. The full impact on human health has yet to be determined, along with the breadth of food contamination.
"It's very difficult to come up with the final amount (of compensation) with the damage of harmful rumors and other things unknown," Tepco President Toshio Nishizawa said.
The net loss largely stems from an extraordinary loss of ¥503 billion the utility booked for the quarter. Of the loss, ¥88.2 billion is for the emotional distress of the evacuees and others affected by the nuclear crisis, ¥309.4 billion for workers' lost salaries and damage to business owners such as farmers who had to cull irradiated livestock.
The extraordinary loss also includes ¥105.3 billion for operations to stabilize the tsunami-hit plant, such as installing a curtainlike fence to prevent radiation-contaminated water from spreading far into the sea and conducting physical exams on plant workers.
This is the first time the utility has reported its earnings since it began paying provisional compensation to people affected by the nuclear crisis.