UPDATE 1-Japan's Chubu Elec to get 100 bln yen emergency loan - Nikkei

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June 24 (Reuters) - Chubu Electric Power Co , Japan's third-biggest power company, will get a loan of 100 billion yen ($1.25 billion) later this month under the government's emergency response loan program, the Nikkei business daily reported.

The loan, to be given through the Development Bank of Japan and expected to be announced Friday, is as part of a low-interest emergency loan programme to help companies and others hit by disaster, Nikkei said.

Early in May, Chubu Electric had shut down its Hamaoka nuclear power station after a request by Prime Minister Naoto Kan that there is a high risk of a major earthquake hitting the area in the near future, the daily said.

In exchange for closing the plant, which it was not legally required to do, the company asked for government's assistance, Nikkei said.

Through discussions with Chubu Electric, the government concluded that making sure the company will have sufficient funds should be the first priority, the report said.

The nuclear disaster at Tokyo Electric Power Co's Fukushima Daiichi power plant has effectively cut off electric utilities' access to the bond market, the paper said.

There is also fear that the finances of the power companies will gradually deteriorate as they are forced to procure fuel, enact safety measures and repair fossil-fuel plants, Nikkei said. ($1 = 80.315 Japanese Yen) (Reporting by Arpita Mukherjee in Bangalore; Editing by Gopakumar Warrier)