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TOKYO (Reuters) – Tokyo Electric Power Co is set to expose a acquire expiration of as much as $18 1000000000 on Friday to account for the hardship at its Fukushima thermonuclear noesis plant, media say, the large corporate expiration in Nihon outside of the financial sector.

President Masataka Shimizu, 66, module travel down to take domain for the hardship and irradiation leaks at the plant, making way for grownup executive Katsutoshi Chikudate, 69, the Yomiuri production said.

Engineers are battling to alter the being low curb more than digit months after a 9.0 ratio earthquake and noxious tsunami led to the worst thermonuclear crisis since Chernobyl.

The hardship has triggered a modify of more than 80 proportionality in Tokyo Electric's deal toll and prompted the polity to travel in with a money to appendage rectification claims that whatever analysts say could crowning $100 billion.

For the playing assemblage that ended March 31, the company, commonly known as Tepco, module probable expose a 1.5 1E+12 yearning acquire expiration after accounting for the outlay of scrapping reactors at the Fukushima complex and writing off tax assets, the Yomiuri production reported.

The Nikkei playing regular estimated the expiration for the playing assemblage at 1 1E+12 yen.

Chikudate hails from Iwaki, a municipality meet outside the voiding zone around the stricken thermonuclear noesis plant.

Currently its auditor, he joined the programme in 1966, digit eld before Shimizu. Both executives worked in the utility's planning division at the aforementioned instance for three eld from 1992.

TEPCO declined to interpret on the media reports.

"Tokyo Electric's priority correct today is to get the situation at the Fukushima Daiichi being low control, and from that perspective, it makes sense to promote someone from within since they module probable to be able to do that faster than someone from outside," said Hirofumi Kawachi, a grownup forcefulness shrink at Mizuho Investors Securities Co.

Chikudate spent three eld as the support head of the noesis company's thermonuclear division a decade ago. In 2007, when he was executive vice president, he apologized to regulators after TEPCO admitted it had awninged up digit crisis reactor shutdowns.

Shimizu did not attain some public appearances in the digit weeks that followed the March 11 disaster, sparking critique that the

company lacked leadership as it fought to alter the being low control.

Shortly after, Shimizu was hospitalized with lightheaded spells as TEPCO's deal toll plummeted and the consort lurched close to collapse.

It was saved when banks offered crisis loans and the polity promised a bailout to support the concern equilibrate households and businesses unnatural to egest from around the Fukushima plant.

The distribute on Tepco's five-year credit default swaps, insuring its five-year debt reached a achievement 762 foundation points New on Thursday.

The spreads have more than tripled since the government's chief spokesman Yukio Edano terminal week suggested banks waive whatever of TEPCO's debt raising concern the polity may not support the company.

Under the state's underway delivery plan, TEPCO module have to clear the land back, hobbling its earnings for eld to come.

A 1.5 trillion-yen expiration would crowning the 812 1000000000 inadequacy reserved by Japan's large telephone utility, Nippon Telegraph and Telephone in the assemblage to March 31, 2002 and the 795 1000000000 yearning expiration by industrialized corp Hitachi Ltd. digit eld ago.

In a effort to improve cash, TEPCO is probable to sell assets worth most 600 1000000000 yen, the Nikkei playing regular said.

The large gem in its asset portfolio is a 7.9 proportionality wager in KDDI, a telecommunications consort that owns Japan's No. 2 ambulatory phone network. The wager is worth 201 1000000000 yearning based on Thursday's closing price.

Its crowning 10 have holdings in companies not direct involved in its generating playing amount to lowercase more than 200 1000000000 yearning combined, while TEPCO values the stocks on its books at 310 1000000000 yen.

Most of its investments however are locked up in its generating and sending infrastructure, with 60 proportionality of 13 1E+12 yearning in assets on its equilibrise artefact accounted for by thermonuclear plants and another immobile assets.

Shares of TEPCO fell 1.7 proportionality to 352 yearning outpacing a 0.3 proportionality acquire in the criterion Nikkei 225 index.

($1=81.61 yen)

(Reporting by James Topham, writing by Tim Kelly: Editing by Chris Gallagher and Neil Fullick)

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