Key Point of President's Regular Press Conference

November 2020 Regular Press Conference : President Hayashi's Message

November 25, 2020
Chubu Electric Power Co.,Inc.

I will be discussing the following matters today:

Efforts to increase the adoption of renewable energy sources
Implementation of company-wide disaster prevention drills

Efforts to increase the adoption of renewable energy sources

First, I would like to talk about the efforts to increase the adoption of renewable energy sources.
As you know, Prime Minister Suga declared in his policy speech last month his goal of achieving net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.
This is an extremely challenging goal; however, we understand that it is something that we should actively work on, and we will advance decarbonization efforts in various business fields, from power generation to network and sales.
With regards to renewable energy, we are positioning it as one of our main power sources, as it contributes to an increase in the energy self-sufficiency rate and decarbonization, and are working on both “developing new power sources” and “effectively using our existing hydroelectric power stations.”
In terms of “developing new power sources,” we are working together as a group to develop new power sources such as onshore and offshore wind farms, solar power, and biomass, etc., with the aim of “developing 2 million kW or more by around 2030.”
Chubu Electric has commenced operation of the Yokkaichi Biomass Power Station in May, began construction on the Abekawa Hydroelectric Power Station in Shizuoka Prefecture in July, and made the decision to develop the “Godo Biomass Power Station” in Gifu Prefecture in September.
Also, as we announced today, we have begun construction on the “Kamisu Biomass Power Station,” with a power output of 50MW, in Kamisu City, Ibaraki Prefecture.
So far, our equity ownership in electricity output is approximately 250,000kW for Chubu Electric and approximately 520,000kW for the entire group, which puts us at about a quarter of the way towards reaching our goal of 2 million kW.
We consider offshore wind power generation to be a promising large-scale power source for achieving our development goal, and we are moving ahead with construction at Akita Port and Noshiro Port in collaboration with other operators, as well as conducting development possibility reviews such as wind condition and seabed soil investigations and environmental impact assessments in the 4 prefecture and 6 district area encompassing Akita Prefecture, Chiba Prefecture, Yamagata Prefecture, and Fukui Prefecture.
In four of the districts, the government is scheduled to begin a public call to select operators soon, and we are planning to develop, together with the operators that will be participating jointly with us, a cost-competitive business plan that takes into account co-existence with the local community so that we can be considered for selection.
Next, I would like to talk about the “effective use of existing hydroelectric power stations.”
Hydroelectric power generation offers the most stable electric energy output among all the renewable energy sources, and can also be used for a longer period of time than other power sources, with an average operating life of approximately 80 years.
Chubu Electric owns hydroelectric power stations with a power capacity of 2.14 million kW in 191 locations in the Chubu area, excluding pumped-storage hydroelectric power stations, and from the standpoint of “effectively using our precious water resources as much as possible without wastage,” we have continued to improve our hydroelectric facilities and operations over the years and we are working on increasing our electric energy output.
Specifically, we are conducting efforts such as “reviewing generating facilities to ensure optimal renewal of equipment in accordance with river flow conditions,” “incorporating the Toyota Production System in inspection and construction work to ensure process optimization and streamlining of work, thus reducing power generation shutdown periods,” and “increasing the dam operation water level by using sophisticated rainfall prediction,” etc.
By implementing these various measures, we have been able to increase our electric energy output by approximately 180 million kWh (equivalent to 58,000 ordinary households) per year compared to right after the Great East Japan Earthquake in FY2012, and furthermore, we are forecasting a further increase of approximately 60 million kWh (equivalent to 19,000 ordinary households) in the next five years.
The Chubu Electric Power Group will make utmost efforts towards decarbonization by continuing to adopt renewable energy sources and promoting the use of nuclear power generation with safety as the top priority, and by enhancing its efforts to eliminate carbon dioxide emissions in all its business areas, from power generation to power transmission and distribution and sales, such as Chubu Electric Power Grid’s conversion to the next-generation network and Chubu Electric Power Miraiz’s offering of CO2-free menu service and service for the self-consumption of solar power, etc.

Implementation of company-wide disaster prevention drills

Lastly, I would like to talk about the company-wide disaster prevention drills, which will be conducted on December 1.
Chubu Electric conducts company-wide disaster prevention drills every year to prepare for large-scale disasters such as the Nankai megathrust earthquakes, and this year, approximately 10,000 people from all the offices will participate in the drills.
This year’s drills will envision a possible large-scale outage and nuclear disaster caused by a Nankai megathrust earthquake occurring at 9AM on a weekday.
Training will be conducted without presenting a scenario in advance with regards to initial responses involved in the installation of a “Major Disaster Management Headquarters” to handle large-scale outages after an earthquake and an “Emergency Management Headquarters” to handle nuclear disasters, as well as responses that involve grasping the extent of the damage and subsequent efforts for early restoration, etc.
Furthermore, in consideration of the high infection risk due to the novel coronavirus, training will be conducted by socially distancing the participants and taking infection prevention measures.
This ends my presentation.

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