CSR(Corporate Social Responsibility) Message from the President & Director

We offer our prayers for those who lost their lives in the Great East Japan Earthquake that occurred in March, and we offer our heartfelt best wishes to all who suffered the effects of the disaster.

Shutdown of the Hamaoka Nuclear Power Station

Chubu Electric Power shut down the Hamaoka Nuclear Power Station in May of this year at the request of the Prime Minister.

Hamaoka Nuclear Power Station was designed with sufficient margin to withstand not only the anticipated Tokai Earthquake, but also one the size of the historic Ansei Tokai Earthquake of 1854. In addition, we completed construction to increase seismic tolerance with target ground motion of approximately 1,000 gal in 2008. We have confirmed safety regarding tsunami like those following the Ansei Tokai Earthquake, the Hoei Earthquake, which is thought to have consisted of a triple sequence of Tokai, Tonankai, and Nankai earthquakes, and other such earthquakes that have caused major damage in the region.

However, nuclear power is a business that stands entirely on the trust it earns from society. For us, therefore, responding genuinely to your uncertainties and gaining your greater trust is our top priority, and we have decided to cease operation of all units at the Hamaoka Nuclear Power Station until we have completed further tsunami countermeasures.

This shutdown will result in great inconvenience in the short term to residents of the site region as well as to our customers, shareholders, and other stakeholders. We respectfully request your understanding, however, as we intend to do everything in our power to promptly implement the recently formulated tsunami countermeasures and further heighten the safety of the Hamaoka Nuclear Power Station, while at the same time providing thorough explanations that will contribute to the sense of security of local residents and society at large.

Measures to provide a stable supply of energy this summer

Providing a stable supply of electric power requires having a reserve power margin approximately 8%-10% of anticipated peak demand. The Hamaoka Nuclear Power Station shutdown has made it difficult for Chubu Electric Power to secure adequate supply capability.

We have therefore established an Electric Power Supply and Demand Task Force, which is examining and implementing measures to help assure a stable supply of electric power. In addition to measures on the power supply side, we are asking customers with large factories and other such facilities to change their days of operation. With their cooperation and related measures, we expect to secure a reserve margin of 6%-7%.

We realize that this is an imposition on our customers, but we request that you cooperate in saving electricity by setting your air conditioners to appropriate temperature levels and other such actions.

Addressing the issue of global warming

We electric power companies use large amounts of oil, coal, liquefied natural gas (LNG), and other fossil fuels in order to supply electric power. As a result, we emit large amounts of greenhouse gases. We are therefore engaged in active efforts to introduce renewable energy sources, as well as nuclear power, as sources of electricity that do not emit greenhouse gases in the process of generating power.

In fiscal year 2010, this company's first industrial mega solar generation (large-scale solar power generation) facility will begin commercial operation in Iida City, Nagano Prefecture.

Chubu Electric Power has also started commercial operation of eight new wind power generation units in Omaezaki City, Shizuoka Prefecture. In addition, at the Hekinan Thermal Power Station (a coal-fired thermal power station), we have begun mixed combustion of woody biomass fuels.

The realization of a low-carbon society is a common global issue for the sustainable development of humankind. The Chubu Electric Power Group will continue striving to expand our adoption of renewable energy in the future with the aim of further reducing greenhouse gases.

Our fundamental corporate social responsibility and Management Vision 2030

The Tohoku-Pacific Ocean Earthquake and accompanying tsunami caused a tight electric power supply-demand situation in Eastern Japan as well as serious incidents at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station operated by the Tokyo Electric Power Co., Inc. These events have caused us to feel keenly how crucial it is to fulfill our public mission as an electric power company to deliver a safe and stable supply of the energy that is indispensable in people's lives and so to contribute to the development of society. It also caused us to realize anew that fulfilling this mission is the fundamental corporate social responsibility of the Chubu Electric Power Group.

This year, which is the 60th anniversary of our founding, we intend to take another clear look back at the starting point of our business as we look ahead into the future. We have embodied the hopes and concerns in which we find value transcending historical eras in the Chubu Electric Power Group Corporate Philosophy. We have formulated our vision of the corporation we aim to be in 2030, on the basis of that philosophy, as the Chubu Electric Power Group Management Vision 2030.

No matter what the historical era, we are committed to fulfilling our unvarying mission (in other words, our corporate social responsibility), which is to provide a stable supply of energy.

At the same time, we also intend to become the top corporate group in energy services, responding to our customers' expectations by providing new value that surpasses the services we have offered to date.

Strengthening interactive relationships with our stakeholders

As we aim to be the top corporate group in energy services, what we consider to be of particular importance is our ties with our stakeholders.

Our intentions go beyond the occasions for providing high-quality energy through marketing activities, and extend also to environmental protection programs, education for the next generation, cultural and sports activities, and other such occasions for contributing to society. We intend to build our relationship of trust with you so that we can be partners in constructing a sustainable society across the full range of our activities.

Akihisa Mizuno
President & Director
Chubu Electric Power Co., Inc.