Tokyo Electric Power (TEPCO) said Monday that it has signed a new contract to buy one million tons of liquefied natural gas from Qatar every year.

The operator of the crippled Fukushima nuclear plant said the purchase will start from August, as Japanese power companies keep thermal plants online, while shutting off nuclear plants due to tense public opposition.

The public's fears of nuclear energy intensified after last year's tsunami swamped the Fukushima daiichi nuclear plant, sending it into meltdown and creating explosions.

Since then, Japanese utility companies, including TEPCO, have burned more gas to generate power to make up for lost nuclear power.