Three major cities in western Japan - - Kyoto, Osaka and Kobe -- on Monday jointly urged Kansai Electric Power Co. to make efforts to break dependence on nuclear power.

The move came in the wake of the quake-triggered nuclear crisis at the Fukushima Daiichi power plant.

In a written request submitted to Kansai Electric, the three municipalities also called on the company to disclose information on demand and supply of its electricity while lowering and stabilizing electricity charges, according to a Kyodo News report.

Osaka Mayor Toru Hashimoto intends to propose casting off nuclear power dependence at a shareholders meeting in June, the report said.

Osaka has a 9 percent stake in the Kansai Electric while the city of Kobe and Kyoto own 3 percent and 0.45 percent respectively.

Kansai Electric has 11 reactors and had produced half of its electricity by nuclear power before the quake-triggered disaster in northeastern Japan last March, but the company has shut down all of the 11 reactors for checkups.