The bond risk for Tokyo Electric Power Co., from whose stricken Fukushima nuclear plant highly radioactive water is flowing into the sea, surged the most since June on concern delays in getting reactors started at another atomic plant will spoil its loans.
The cost to insure the debt of Tepco surged 20 basis points to 272 basis points last week, the steepest five-day climb in two months, according to data provider CMA. Japan's benchmark for credit risk rose 2 to 95 last week, while the credit-default swaps of U.S. investment-grade utilities increased 1 to 78.
Tepco is at least four months behind schedule in restarting its seven-reactor Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear plant, the world's biggest, in large part because of political opposition. Its case was further weakened after revelations that about 300 tons of radioactive water had leaked from a storage tank at Fukushima. The utility told lenders this month it would need to raise power prices as much as 10 percent next year to avoid a third straight year of pretax losses, a document obtained by Bloomberg News showed. Tepco pledged to earn a profit to get a ¥580 billion ($5.95 billion) loan this year.