Key Point of President's Regular Press Conference

Key Point of President's Regular Press Conference

December 2021 Regular Press Conference : President Hayashi's Message

December 21, 2021
Chubu Electric Power Co.,Inc.

  • Today, I would like to take a look back on the past year and discuss our plans for the coming year.

Looking back on 2021

  • To sum up the past year, 2021 was a year when the environment encompassing the energy business reached a historical turning point. We saw our social structure and lifestyle significantly change due to the evolving digital transformation, the COVID-19 pandemic, and other developments, especially the revision of Japan’s Basic Energy Plan now orientated toward achieving carbon neutrality by 2050.
  • It was a year during which we strived to maintain a stable supply of energy as the pandemic wreaked havoc and we sought to protect our employees, their families, and our partners.
  • In addition, at the beginning of the year as well, a cold wave tightened electricity supply and demand nationwide. This caused much worry as we had to issue requests for everyone to burn additional fuel in their generators as well as reduce power consumption. However, looking back over the year, it was fortunate that the Chubu region did not experience any typhoons or other disasters, which might have caused widespread service interruption, and we were able to stably deliver electricity to our customers.
  • As for the move toward achieving carbon neutrality by 2050, the Sixth Strategic Energy Plan was approved by the Japanese Cabinet in October and a national advisory committee also began discussions with the goal of formulating a clean energy strategy last week on December 16.
  • In this sort of turbulent business environment, in March, the Chubu Electric Power Group developed the Zero Emissions Challenge 2050. This plan details how we will take up the challenge of advancing towards a carbon free society. Later, in November, we announced the Chubu Electric Power Group Management Vision 2.0.
  • Management Vision 2.0 envisions a society in the run-up to 2050 that will be “decarbonized,” “safe and secure,” as well as “self-distributed and circular.” This vision clearly defines the efforts that we will make to grow sustainably together with our customers and society. I feel that the response to this plan has been good as it set out the path along which our group will proceed.

Next year’s plans

  • Next, I would like to talk about our plans for the coming year.
  • I believe that 2022 will be a year when we exert the determination to steadily give shape to our ideas and thus significantly propel our efforts forward to realize Management Vision 2.0.
  • In addition to giving a boost to the far-reaching transformation of structuring our entire society so that it is carbon free, we will take up the challenge of building a completely new business model where, among other initiatives, we deliver not only energy but a variety of new value-added services while we also continue to expand our business areas beyond the energy business framework so that we may deliver the new value that our community and customers demand.

(Contributing to decarbonization)

  • In moving toward achieving decarbonization, I believe that it is necessary to further expand renewable energies, build a hydrogen & ammonia supply chain, and maximize use of Hamaoka Nuclear Power Station.
  • The renewable energy expansion target set out in Management Vision 2.0 of realizing 3.2 GW or more by approximately 2030 is a huge challenge. The achievement of that goal will require not only that Chubu Electric Power implement unilateral initiatives, but that we also collaborate further with our customers and business partners.
  • Specifically, in addition to the in-house development efforts that we have been pursuing, we will accelerate an even broader range of initiatives together with our customers so as to provide non-fossil fuel value as well as other services through the construction and maintenance of customers’ power sources.
  • As for hydrogen and ammonia, we will work to demonstrate mixed-combustion feasibility at JERA’s thermal power plants. In collaboration with trading companies, heavy equipment manufacturers, and others, we will conduct a detailed study on the construction of a supply chain extending from the international supply network to the regional supply network.
  • Our group will endeavor to restart Hamaoka Nuclear Power Station so that we may make use of nuclear power, which is so necessary for achieving carbon neutrality.
  • The Hamaoka Nuclear Power Station is currently undergoing a review to verify compliance with the new regulatory requirements. We will continue to diligently facilitate the Nuclear Regulation Authority’s review, and do everything we can to have the power station’s compliance verified as soon as possible as well as take advantage of a variety of opportunities to provide the community and society as a whole with conscientious explanations of our initiatives.

(Delivering new value)

  • So that we may deliver the new value that the community and our customers demand, we want to expand our business domain, provide value-added services, and make other changes as we strive to transform our business model.
  • In the expansion of our business domains, we will be studying particular aspects of the resource circulation business in which we took an equity stake this month, and accelerate the social implementation and monetization of research and verification testing, which we have been conducting, so that we may further expand into sectors related to people’s lives, such as medicine and healthcare as well as the real estate business.
  • Along with expanding our business domain, we will construct a platform for providing a variety of services to deliver energy as we always have and also value-added services tailored to our customers’ lives by making use of accumulated data.
  • So that our group may sustainably grow, we must fortify a new revenue base. We will accelerate the expansion of our businesses not only within Japan, but also globally.
  • More specifically, in addition to Europe for which Eneco serves as a strategic platform, we will use Vietnam’s Bitexco Power Corporation, in which we invested this year, as a foothold for a sweeping expansion of our business in Asia. We will also be expanding into Eastern Europe and Russia.
  • To bolster our revenue base, we will continue to enhance our strategic investments mainly in the renewable energy power generation business, and interweave the strengths that we have developed in Japan with technology and know-how gained overseas. These efforts will comprise the specific consideration of programs for exchanging personnel with companies in which we hold an equity stake.

(Human resources strategy)

  • A key factor as we move toward realizing Management Vision 2.0 in this way will be our human resources, the essence of our corporate value.
  • Personnel are the source of corporate growth. I believe it is absolutely essential that each and every employee of the Chubu Electric Power Group play an active part so that we all may contribute to the sustainable development of our community and society as a whole.
  • We will proceed to create an environment and mechanisms for our diverse human resources to engage in an even more active role so that we are able to realize a stable supply of energy in the future as well as take up the challenge of new areas and offer services conducive to solving social issues and tailored to our customers’ needs.
  • We will first start by enhancing development of our human resources, which will include commencing training programs for our personnel to learn data analysis techniques as we move toward promoting digital transformation, one of our key management challenges.

(In closing)

  • Lastly, in April and October of this year, the Japan Fair Trade Commission conducted on-site inspections of Chubu Electric Power Company and Chubu Electric Power Miraiz Company. I would like to apologize to all our customers and stakeholders for the great concern this has caused.
  • We are taking these actions very seriously and continuing to extend our full cooperation with the Japan Fair Trade Commission’s investigation.
  • The trust that our customers and society place in us are the bedrock of our business, and we will ensure thorough compliance in the future as well.

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