Key Point of President's Regular Press Conference

Key Point of President's Regular Press Conference

November 2015 Regular Press Conference : President Katsuno's Message

November 25, 2015
Chubu Electric Power Co.,Inc.

  • Today I will be discussing the following two matters:
    • Launch of the Internal Company System
    • Progress made in the refurbishment of Nishi-Nagoya Thermal Power Station

Launch of the Internal Company System

(Business environment)

  • As we previously announced, the business environment surrounding Chubu Electric Power will undergo a drastic change. This is a result of the full retail deregulation of electric power starting from the next fiscal year, the power transmission and distribution sector’s legal unbundling slated for fiscal 2020, and also the progress in electric power and gas reform including the liberalization in gas businesses.
  • We will be stepping into a new age where customers can choose power utilities and gas companies at their own will.
  • Customers will presumably have further heightened demands and expectations towards energy companies, with such examples as safe, stable, and low-cost energy-providing services.
  • Meanwhile, we are seeing a number of new large-scale power stations being established amid the sluggish domestic demand in the power market, and this is expected to scale up supply capacities.
  • Various utilities from different industries are making their way into the power generation and retail business, which is likely to intensify the competition to a further extent.
  • Under these business environment transitions,
    • Continuous achievement of our unchanging mission as an electric utility to supply eco-conscious, safe, and quality energy on a stable and low-cost basis
    • Swift construction of a new business model that can cope with changes, thereby creating never-before-seen values that anticipate customer needs and providing services with high added value

    Chubu Electric Power will win further trust from customers and outperform others in the intense competition by simultaneously accomplishing:

(Launch of the Internal Company System)

  • To brace ourselves against the upcoming stiff competitions, Chubu Electric Power decided to step up its efforts of constructing an independent business framework that can address changes in a flexible and swift manner.
  • Starting from April 1, 2016, we will launch an internal company system in the business fields of power generation, power transmission and distribution, and retail
  • More specifically, Chubu Electric Power will establish three companies, namely:
    • The Power Generation Company, aiming to broaden businesses and achieve stable electric power supplies with thermal power and renewable energy;
    • The Power Network Company, offering quality electricity in the Chubu region on a safe, stable, and low-priced basis, while also providing a detached and impartial network service;
    • The Sales Company, looking to roll out integrated energy services with an emphasis on gas and power.

(What the internal company system aims for)

  • With the launch of the internal company system, business frameworks will be constructed for each company. This will include:
    • Selecting Company Presidents and delegating executive authority over operations
    • Establishing a Company Board as a consultative body for the Company President
    • Establishing a planning sector to achieve independent management on a per-business basis
  • By reshaping ourselves into an internal company system, which is an independent business format that combines responsibilities and authorities, Chubu Electric Power will engage in management that caters to the issues of each business field.
  • This is expected to propel the streamlining process of operations and result in flexible and swift business operations, which in turn will enable providing customers with value-bearing services in a shorter amount of time.

(Conclusion)

  • Chubu Electric Power developed with the help from many customers in the Chubu region, and expanded in step with the area.
  • As a power transmission and distribution utility, we will continue to provide a stable supply of electricity to the Chubu area and set our sales foundation in the region as a retail utility. In this way, we will maintain our contribution to the society with our focus on the area
  • In the meantime, we see the upcoming business environment changes as a significant opportunity to broaden our business areas, for instance:
    • Going beyond the Chubu area and broadening business areas
    • Expanding services into gas businesses and to non-energy territories in a fashion that anticipate customer needs
    • Expanding the application of non-Chubu Electric Power Group management resources, including cross-industry operation tie-ups
  • By launching the internal company system, Chubu Electric Power will construct a further independent business framework that can address changes in the business environment in a flexible and swift manner to broaden our business areas and accelerate the creation of new values, thereby outperforming others in the ever-intensifying competition.

Progress made in the refurbishment of Nishi-Nagoya Thermal Power Station

  • Upon decommissioning Nishi-Nagoya Thermal Power Station Units 1 to 4 in November 2013, Chubu Electric Power is newly pressing ahead with a refurbishment project to build Group No. 7, which boasts a total output of 2,376 MW.
  • Nishi-Nagoya Thermal Power Station started operations in the early half of the 1970s as an oil-fired power station. It was a means to respond to growing calls for power demands along with Japan’s rapid economic growth.
  • After starting operations, the station functioned primarily as middle-load power and recently served a role as peak-load power, but given that the facility’s aging has advanced after some 40 years, we decided to rebuild it.
  • Newly launching a LNG combined cycle generation facility, with the world's highest level of efficiency at around 62%, will raise the overall thermal efficiency of Chubu Electric Power’s thermal power generation facilities.
  • This will allow for annually reducing approx. 1.4 million tons of CO2 emissions as well as around 0.5 million tons of fuel usage.
  • Regarding the refurbishment, constructions began from January 2014. We are working on the project, looking to start commercial operations in September 2017 for unit no. 7-1 and March 2018 for unit no. 7-2.
  • LNG receiving terminals will not be built at Nishi-Nagoya Thermal Power Station; instead, Nishi-Nagoya Station will accept natural gas by connecting with Chita-Daini Thermal Power Station through a seabed-installed gas pipeline.
  • A 4.6 kilometer-long undersea tunnel that crosses through Nagoya Port, which is intended for installing the gas pipeline, has already been completed.
  • Chubu Electric Power is currently constructing the new station building and a chimney planned to be around 80 meters above the ground.
  • As of November 20, 15.9% of the entire construction has completed.
  • With the continued understanding and cooperation of local residents, authorities, and relevant parties, we will steadfastly carry forward the construction in a safety-first fashion.  

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