June 2010 Regular Press Conference: President Mizuno's Message

• The electricity business is currently at a major turning point. As customers, technology and society change, the energy supply and demand structure of the future will also undergo great changes.
• When we consider our customers' values, for example, we see that their needs are growing, not only for quality and price, but also for the environment and low carbon output.
• On the technology side, we expect further innovation and profusion of technology, including "technologies for generating electricity" (solar and other renewable energy, fuel cells, etc.), "technologies for storing electricity" (lithium-ion cells, etc.) and "technologies for using electricity" (including electric vehicles and heat pumps).
• On the social side, people are becoming more mobile, and goods, money and information are actively circulating on a global scale. Certain economies are undergoing strong growth, especially in the emerging nations, while the Japanese society is maturing, bringing changes in the industrial structure and an older populace having fewer children.
• I think the most important point is to "Change what should be changed, and protect what should be protected."
  Customers, society and technology are all involved in an age of bewildering change. What I hope to do is correctly perceive this dynamic, and then change what should be changed in line with customer expectations. Along with that, I hope to live up to the trust that our long-time customers have placed in us, and sincerely "protect what should be protected" to contribute to their prosperity and to regional development as well.
• I'd like to talk about two aspirations, and one particularly important issue, relating to living up to our customers' expectations and trust.

• The first aspiration I'd like to talk about is "Continuing to be a core company in the energy industry while changing what should be changed."
• One thing that won't change in the future is that energy is the foundation of our lifestyles and industry. But I think that the ways we create and use energy will change greatly.
• In particular, hereafter we will all become more and more concerned about protecting the global environment while using energy efficiently.
  An indispensable part of doing this will be using nuclear power and renewable energy, both of which offer excellent energy security and help protect the global environment, to generate low-carbon electricity and deliver it to our customers.
• On the energy consumption side, the ways that customers use electricity are expected to be more advanced in future.
• To give a few examples:
  - Greater use and technical development of "heat pump technology" and "electric heating technology"
  - The development of systems that can flexibly control how electricity is used based on customer desires, as we will see in the next generation of housing
  - Further diffusion and advancement of electric vehicles
  These are ways in which customers' electricity usage patterns are changing and expanding.
• Also, industrial and business customers in particular will have an increasing desire for the optimal mix of energy (with electricity as the main type), along with efficient operating procedures and heat source systems so that they can reduce costs and environmental burdens.
• Chubu Electric Power will provide service with a new point of view, constantly aware of customer changes and constantly considering "what electricity can do to help our customers enjoy more prosperous lifestyles." So rather than getting stuck in the old ways of doing things, we will change what should be changed and act creatively and imaginatively to meet the expectations of our customers and society.

(New business domains, international energy business)

• The business of electricity and energy is a long-term commitment, lasting for generations.
  The results we have today are the fruit of seeds planted years ago by our predecessors.
  And just as our predecessors did, we need to sow seeds of growth for the coming generation and generations beyond.
• With that point of view, as an enterprise responsible for providing energy to the Chubu Region, we will use our abundant management resources, including our extensive technical expertise, to actively take on new business domains and focus all the Group's collective power on increasing revenue.
  We will also aim for sustainable development as a "core company in the energy industry."
• Among such domains, we will further develop the "overseas energy business," an area whose foundation we have been consolidating up to now, as a new source of revenue to go with our existing businesses like electricity, gas/LNG sales and onsite energy services.
• Specifically, we have set a benchmark of ¥100 billion in cumulative investment by FY2015.
  Focusing particularly on Asia, North America and the Middle East, we plan to actively develop our electric power generating business and environmental business, paying sufficient regard to business efficiency and risk management.
• Chubu Electric Power's desire to contribute to regional development through the electricity business is the same in Japan and abroad.
  By taking the electricity business know-how we have cultivated in Japan and using it to develop business overseas, we hope to contribute to the development of those countries.

• My second aspiration concerns Chubu Electric Power's public mission of "protecting what should be protected: continuing to support regional development and lifestyles."
• It is anticipated that the ways in which electricity is generated and used in the future will undergo all types of changes, as exemplified by solar energy and electric vehicles.
  No matter how electric power is generated and used in future societies, Chubu Electric Power will continue to use its power stations and power networks to provide a solid foundation for stable electric power supply.
• Fulfilling our public mission of providing a stable supply of safe, inexpensive energy that creates little environmental burden and thereby supporting people's lifestyles as well as regional development is not only our company policy, but is in fact Chubu Electric Power's social responsibility.
• There are certain foundations to our work that we have traditionally protected as highly important, and we will continue to do so. These include:
  -  Responsibly conducting inspection patrols of facilities 365 days a year
  -  Continuing to stably generate electricity 24 hours a day
  -  Making every effort to restore power when there is an outage because of natural disaster or other reason
  -  And above all, meeting our customer's various needs.
• The results of our daily labors in each workplace are the source of the trust we receive from society and our customers. Without their trust, it would be impossible for Chubu Electric Power to run its business, so we will continue to protect and cultivate our customers' trust as we move into the future.

• A particularly important issue for Chubu Electric Power to fulfill its unchanging mission is "promoting nuclear power."
• Nuclear power is an important power source that Japan cannot exist without if it is to ensure a stable supply of energy and protect the global environment, and I intend to help the community in general to understand and appreciate this fact.
• Hereafter, we will continue to operate the Hamaoka Nuclear Power Station with safety as the highest priority, and with the understanding of the local community, we will steadily pursue our pluthermal plan, replacement plan and so on.
• We will also steadily implement initiatives for new in-house development with a long-term perspective.  

(Decide on long-term management vision)

• In an age when customers, technology and society are changing, Chubu Electric Power needs to state clearly its direction for the future and conscientiously inform our stakeholders.
  For this reason, I have decided that we will settle down to work on establishing a new long-term management vision that looks forward to the year 2030. This is to be accomplished by the end of the current fiscal year.
  Looking ahead to the exceptionally long term of 20 years is a difficult undertaking, but I would like to do this as a new experiment in recognizing how our customers and society are changing, and use this to dictate the direction of management. 

• Finally, I'd like to talk about one thing that I will endeavor to do as President in order to make a practice of "changing what should be changed and protecting what should be protected," achieving those aspirations and addressing the issue I mentioned earlier.
• That is, continuing to enhance and advance the "power of the workplace."
• Customers, technology and society will change greatly hereafter.
  We must have our antennas up so we can quickly detect signs of those changes, meeting our customers' expectations and earning their trust.
  To do this it is important that our workplaces have "autonomy" so that individuals think, judge and act for themselves.
• I want our employees to think for themselves and labor diligently to discover changes, and then make autonomous decisions that create layer after layer of improvement.
  At the same time, I want them to aim to be "work professionals," people who can use their own creativity and originality to overcome difficult circumstances.
• For myself, I want to advance the "power of the workplace" so that ultimately we become a group of professionals who use teamwork to pool our wisdom and experience and work together to do great things that no individual can do alone.
• I want to have a company in which each employee will make full use of his or her individuality in pursuit of a common goal, and with teamwork these diverse personalities will all shine and the organization as a whole will be an energetic place. And I will make every effort to initiate the environment for this to happen.
• Finally, I'd like to talk about the enterprise vision I aim to achieve.
• Chubu Electric Power's mission is to "continue providing a stable supply of energy" as a "multi-energy services group," and to "help customers achieve happy lifestyles through energy."
• Chubu Electric Power will try to gauge changes in customers, technology and society and strive together with the collective power of our employees to meet society's and our customers' expectations.
• And in any age, the members of Chubu Electric Power will continue to move forward as we seek to be "an enterprise that changes to meet its customers' expectations and support their lifestyles in response to their trust."
• Now I have told you my thoughts as I assume the post of President, and I look forward to everyone's ongoing support and advice for Chubu Electric Power.

This concludes my remarks for today.