Key Point of President's Regular Press Conference

Key Point of President's Regular Press Conference

Press Conference for the Announcement of Officers

March 24, 2015
Chubu Electric Power Co.,Inc.

Chairman Mita’s Message

(Introduction)

  • First of all, I would like to speak regarding the personnel changes of this time.

(Announcement of the New Chairman and the New President)

  • Although the official decision will be made after obtaining election as a director at the General Meeting of Shareholders scheduled to be held in June, at today's Board of Directors Meeting, I will retire and become a consultant and President Akihisa Mizuno will be appointed as the new Chairman, and Vice President Satoru Katsuno will be appointed as the new President.
  • With the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station accident due to the Great East Japan Earthquake, electric utilities within Japan have come upon a historical turning point.
  • Amidst these circumstances, under the direction of President Mizuno, our company has moved forward with various initiatives to further enhance safety, stableness of power supply, management efficiency, and competitiveness at the Hamaoka Nuclear Power Station.
  • On the other hand, changes in the business environment surrounding not only electric power but energy in general, such as the full deregulation of retail electric power, the legal separation of power transmission and distribution sectors, and the deliberation of gas system reforms are believed to become even more severe in the future.
  • Amidst the harsh business environment since the company's founding, we have strived to further strengthen the management foundation, while making strategic moves aimed at the company's growth.
  • In the future, it is necessary to take a new step ahead towards the realization of a growth strategy, in order to win against the competition that is increasingly turning full swing.
  • Based on these points, it was decided to change the top management at this timing.

(Introductions of the New Chairman and the New President)

  • As you all well know, new Chairman Mizuno displayed excellent capability as the President. I myself placed my full amount of trust in him and left management execution up to him.
  • In particular, President Mizuno dealt with formulating appropriate strategies and made rapid decisions for the many difficult challenges which arose in the harsh business environment following the earthquake. From now on, I would like to have President Mizuno be responsible for the management of the entire Chubu Electric Power Group as a Chairman.
  • New President Mr. Katsuno is currently widely involved in overall management as the current Manager of the Corporate Planning & Strategy Division.
  • Mr. Katsuno has been active as the right arm of President Mizuno for various important issues, such as the improvement of safety measures at Hamaoka, the revision of electricity rates, the power system reform, and the alliance with TEPCO.
  • With experience not only as the President of the Tokyo office and General Manager of the Okazaki office, but also as the General Manager of the Okazaki office Electrical Engineering Dept., Mr. Katsuno is very bright when conducting business in the field and in the central management, overflowing with vitality, and owns a sense of balance, judgment capabilities, and extensive knowledge.
  • Both individuals have an impeccable personality, insight, and competence, and although the business environment will continue to be harsh in the future, I believe that I can entrust these two individuals with future work with confidence.

(Conclusion)

  • I will once again make a formal greeting in the future, but for now I would like to ask everyone to be supportive to the new Chairman and the new President.
  • That concludes my remarks for today.

President Mizuno’s Message

(Introduction)

  • Hello, this is Mizuno.
  • As Chairman Mita just announced, I have been appointed to be the Chairman at the Board of Directors Meeting today.
  • Although it is truly a great honor, being asked to take upon the heavy duties of the Chairman position among this drastically changing environment surrounding the energy business is truly a sobering experience.
  • I will do my utmost to serve to my very best ability and fulfill the responsibilities entrusted to me.

(Looking back on the past 5 years)

  • Since becoming President, I have repeatedly stated that we should "Change what needs to be changed, and keep what needs to be kept."
  • In particular, among the drastically changing business environment surrounding our company since the earthquake, I have told our employees to take the situation positively, and to think of changes as opportunities.
  • On the other hand, in order to gain the trust of the region and society, I continuously conveyed the importance of holding onto the public interest mission to "deliver a stable supply of safe and low-cost energy" at all times.
  • These thoughts have been surely spreading, and I believe that the buds towards the realization of growth strategy are steadily growing up.
  • Looking back upon these five years, there were constantly very difficult and tough decisions to be made, such as the correspondence with Hamaoka shutdown requests, the subsequent efforts made toward enhanced safety, LNG procurement from the United States, the alliance with TEPCO, and furthermore the increase in electricity rates for the first time in 34 years.
  • Among such circumstances, we were able to make it to where we are today thanks to the support, cooperation, and understanding from a great many people, including our customers, suppliers, officers, employees, and group companies. I would like to once again take this opportunity to thank everyone for their support.

(Introduction of the New President)

  • As Chairman Mita also stated in his introduction, the new President Mr. Katsuno is a person rich with experience who has excellent judgment capabilities, the ability to act, and an excellent sense of balance. He is always bright and positive, and even in this era of harsh changes, he has only further increased the speed of reforms. I am confident that he will be able to lead the company.
  • Although our company's efforts are still only halfway completed, in order to surely bring results for our strategic moves that have been made thus far to results and to achieve further growth and development of the Group, I would like to continue guiding the management together with new President Katsuno in the future.

(Conclusion)

  • As of today, I only am nominated so I would like to once again make a greeting when formally being appointed as a Chairman.
  • Thank you very much.
  • That concludes my remarks for today.

Executive Vice President Katsuno’s Message

(Introduction)

  • Hello, this is Katsuno.
  • As Chairman Mita just stated, I have been nominated for the position of President, so I would like to offer a few words as a greeting.

(Recognition of Circumstances)

  • Electric utilities are precisely in the midst of a period of transition. Although we have begun to see a direction of power system reform, energy policies, such as discussions regarding the energy mix and nuclear re-operation problems, still remain in a situation of uncertainty.
  • Amidst such events, it is truly a sobering experience to be assigned the important mission of becoming President.

(Self-introduction and Ambitions)

  • Up until now, I have mainly experienced departments such as power distribution and management strategy.
  • While in the power distribution departments, I mainly worked on the planning, maintenance, and management of power station and substation facilities.
  • While at the Corporate Planning & Strategy Division, I was precisely involved with pressing issues, such as the formulation of management plans and enhanced safety countermeasures for Hamaoka, as well as power system correspondence.
  • Also, as the general manager of the Okazaki office, I was engaged in work interacting with regional customers besides front line management. Also, as the general manager of the Tokyo office, I experienced central support work.
  • In any situation, I was always committed to work with honesty, conviction, and a strong spirit.
  • Although being assigned the major role of becoming Presided was completely unexpected, I am deliberately feeling the weight of my responsibility.
  • Among the greatly changing business environment, I will aim for a corporation in which managers firmly show their vision, and each and every employee recognizes their role and acts while thinking together.
  • Although we are in a situation facing many difficult challenges, I intend to speedily and steadily address these challenges without hesitation, and tackle these challenges at full power so as to meet the expectations of stakeholders, such as customers and shareholders.
  • Thank you.

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