May 2024 Regular Press Conference : President Hayashi's Message

(Introduction)

• As you are all aware, deliberations for the review of the Seventh Strategic Energy Plan began on May 15 at the Strategic Policy Committee, a national council.
• We believe that the deliberations will take into account the recent domestic and international energy situation, including the emergence of geopolitical risks related to the situation in Ukraine and the Middle East, and that promoting initiatives to maximize the introduction of renewable energy sources, with consideration of stable supply and economic efficiency, is another important issue to be discussed.
• Today, I would like to explain the initiatives from the perspective of maximizing the use of renewable energy, focusing on how to deal with the surplus power that is emerging in the near future.

(Current status of renewable energy introduction and output control)

• Since the start of the FIT system in FY2012, the amount of renewable energy introduced has been steadily increasing across Japan, mainly from solar power generation, and during light-load periods such as spring and autumn, it has greatly exceeded the minimum demand.
• In the Chubu area, the amount of interconnection as of the end of March this year was 11.98 million kW, exceeding the minimum demand of 9.9 million kW for the last fiscal year.
• Electricity supply must always match the ever-changing demand, and if there is an imbalance between supply and demand, it could lead to a large-scale power outage.
• For this reason, it is necessary to cope with the large fluctuations in the output of solar and wind power generation due to weather conditions, and constantly adjust the output of thermal and other power generation to maintain a balance between supply and demand.
• In order to accommodate renewable energy sources, which have increased significantly in recent years, and to maximize their use, when surplus power is generated, the output of thermal and other power generation is controlled in order based on the "Priority Power Supply Rules," and if the surplus power still cannot be settled, power generation operators are asked to control the output of solar, wind and other power generation.
• In the Chubu area, the first output control was implemented in April last year, bringing the total number of output controls in the last fiscal year to 20.
• As of May 21, this fiscal year, a total of 19 output controls have been implemented, which is more times than the same period last fiscal year.
• Regarding the output control rate, which represents the percentage of solar and wind power generation curtailed, the output control rate in the Chubu area in FY2023 was 0.2%, which is low compared to about 2% for Japan as a whole, but it is important to reduce output control so that it does not hinder the expansion of renewable energy.
• To this end, a new "Renewable Energy Output Control Measures" was compiled by the national council last December. Based on the measures, the Chubu Electric Power Group is promoting various initiatives to mitigate output control on both the supply and demand sides.

(Initiatives to mitigate output control at Miraiz)

• First, I would like to talk about the initiatives of Chubu Electric Power Miraiz Co., Inc. ("Miraiz").
• Miraiz is engaged in demand response initiatives that encourage customers to use electricity in ways that match the status of electricity supply and demand and the amount of electricity generated by renewable energy sources.
• As a service for residential customers, Miraiz is offering a demand response service called "NACHARGE" from July 2022.
• This service offers customers the reward points according to the value of their cooperation for changing their electricity usage time, for example, by doing household chores such as cleaning and laundry in batches during the time when electricity generation is high.
• The price per point varies from time to time, but for example, from April 1 to May 9 this year, customers who use more electricity during the midday hours compared to their most recent usage are awarded points worth 5 yen per kWh.
• As of May 9, there were approximately 360,000 registered customers for the service, and during the period from April to May 9 of this year, a total of approximately 940,000 customers have cooperated in eight requests to change their electricity usage time.
• In September last year, a new service called "NACHARGE Link" was launched for households with storage batteries manufactured by Sharp, offering expanded functions of NACHARGE.
• Unlike NACHARGE, NACHARGE Link does not require any customer response because Miraiz remotely controls the recharge and discharge of the storage batteries.

(Initiatives to mitigate output control at Power Grid)

• Next, I will discuss the initiatives of Chubu Electric Power Grid Co., Inc. ("Power Grid")
• In addition to the operation based on the Priority Power Supply Rules explained earlier, Power Grid is working on "promotion of online operation of renewable energy power generation facilities," "request for cooperation in reducing the minimum output of thermal power generation facilities," and "expansion of applicable time period for peak shift discount on consignment charges" and other measures.
• The first point, the online operation of renewable energy power generation facilities, has been gradually expanded because it leads to a reduction in output control time. As of the end of September last year, 55.5% of solar power generation facilities were online.
• Regarding the second point, reducing the minimum output of thermal power generation facilities, Power Grid has requested cooperation to power generation operators in response to the government council's recommendation to make efforts to reduce the minimum output of existing thermal power generation facilities.
• Lastly, as a measure in terms of consignment charges, daytime hours when electricity demand is low and solar power output is high have been added to the applicable time periods for the peak shift discount since April last year.

(Conclusion)

• With the understanding and cooperation of our customers, the Chubu Electric Power Group will actively promote measures such as the provision of new services and the development of next-generation electric power networks, in addition to the initiatives I mentioned today, in order to maximize the use of renewable energy, both in terms of supply and demand.
• This ends my presentation.