Regular Press Conference for December 2011

• 2011 will soon be over. This year was a tumultuous one for Japan’s electricity industry, and for Chubu Electric Power as well.

(Hamaoka Nuclear Power Station)

• The damage to Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station resulting from the Great East Japan Earthquake that occurred on March 11 this year produced a new sense of unease concerning nuclear power throughout the world. Keenly aware of these feelings, Chubu Electric Power reaffirmed its commitment to the basic premise of the nuclear industry: an absolute priority on safety. As a result of this commitment, on May 9 of this year we accepted a request from the government for the suspension of operations at our Hamaoka Nuclear Power Station.
• In July, we formulated a set of tsunami countermeasures designed to further increase the safety of Hamaoka Nuclear Power Station, and even now we are still proceeding with related work at the plant.
• Allow me to provide some details of the status of progress of our tsunami countermeasure-related work.
• The tsunami countermeasures made public on July 22 covered 30 items. As of the present, we have completed four items. These are: the installation of generators for use during disaster situations; the installation of portable power pumps; the allocation of nitrogen cylinders; and the allocation of bulldozers and other heavy equipment.
• On November 11, we commenced construction of our anti-tsunami sea wall. At present, we are engaged in laying in the reinforcing steel and pouring concrete for the underground wall that will form the foundation of the sea wall.
• If the work proceeds according to schedule, we expect to commence erecting the sea wall around May next year.
• Other than this, from November we began clearing work to enable us to position our gas turbines on high ground in order to enhance our emergency countermeasures.
• In addition, from this month we will commence work to enhance the reliability of our waterproof doors, and work on measures to prevent the infiltration of water into our equipment rooms.
• We are steadily pushing ahead with work on our tsunami countermeasures and with adequate care, looking towards completion in December 2012.
• On November 28, representatives of the Shizuoka prefectural government and the mayor of Omaezaki visited the Hamaoka Nuclear Power Station in order to confirm the status of work on our countermeasures.
• We believe that it is important for everyone possible, especially the people of our local region, to come and view our tsunami countermeasures in order to decide for themselves how our efforts will increase the safety of the Hamaoka Nuclear Power Station.
• We will strive our utmost to ensure that the measures we are putting in place will further increase the safety of the Hamaoka Nuclear Power Station, and we will also provide detailed explanations of those countermeasures, attempting to foster, in doing so, a greater sense of security throughout society, in particular among the people of our local community.

(Power supply and demand)

• I would now like to look back briefly on the status of power supply and demand.
• This year, many of our customers experienced worry and inconvenience as the shutdown of all units of the Hamaoka Nuclear Power Station saw us fall below the 8-10% reserve margin that is the yardstick for stable supply and demand over the summer period.
• We were able to get through these difficult conditions due to the efforts of our customers – efforts that entailed some sacrifice – in saving power and adjusting their operations. We would like once again to offer our sincere thanks to all our customers who assisted in these efforts.
• We predict severe conditions this winter also, with a reserve margin of below 8% throughout the season. However, from the beginning of December to the present, in addition to obtaining the support of our customers through their cooperation in efforts to conserve power, we have experienced no major problems at any of our thermal plants, and we have been able to maintain a stable supply of power.
• Extremely difficult conditions will continue into next year, with the shutdown of the Hamaoka Nuclear Power Station resulting in increased costs due to the procurement of additional fuel and the formulation of supply and demand measures looking towards next summer, in addition to other difficulties.
• It is a regrettable necessity, but both summer and winter this year have seen us relying on the tremendous cooperation of our customers, supporting us in providing a stable supply of power. We are yet to review the projected power supply situation for next summer, but we will expend every effort possible in order to ensure our supply capacity without recourse to uniform restrictions on demand, which would have a significant social effect, or requests for major operational adjustments of industry-wide scale, as occurred in summer this year.
• That is all from me today.