Abe's bid to set up national power grid stumbles

Tokyo

AFTER the Fukushima disaster crippled Japan's nuclear energy sector three years ago, the government pledged the biggest shake-up in the history of the fragmented electricity industry to boost competition and contain a surge in power prices.

But a first crucial phase of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's plan - to set up a national grid company to allow new suppliers to sell electricity to the residential sector - has been watered down so much that even people directly involved in creating or running the body say it will not have enough power to succeed.