Press Release

Press Release

Filing of action to hold a former director accountable for receipt of cease and desist order and surcharge payment order from JFTC concerning city gas supply to large-volume customers in Chubu area

May 28, 2024
Chubu Electric Power Co.,Inc.
Chubu Electric Power Miraiz Co., Inc.

On March 4, 2024, Chubu Electric Power Co., Inc. (President & Director: Kingo Hayashi, "Chubu Electric Power") received a surcharge payment order and Chubu Electric Power Miraiz Co., Inc. (President: Hironori Kamiya, "Miraiz") received a cease and desist order and a surcharge payment order, respectively from the Japan Fair Trade Commission ("JFTC") under the Antimonopoly Act in connection with the supply of city gas to large-volume customers in the Chubu area.
(Announced on the same day, "the case")

The corporate auditors of Chubu Electric Power and Miraiz (collectively, "the companies") have commissioned an investigation by an outside law firm that has no vested interest in the current or former directors of the companies involved in the case ("the investigated directors"), and the results of the investigation have been examined by the boards of auditors of the companies and other relevant parties to determine whether or not to pursue responsibility against the investigated directors in connection with the case.

Today, all auditors of Chubu Electric Power decided to file a suit against one of the investigated directors, a former director, for negligence in the performance of his duties in the case, as follows (for details, please refer to the attached "Results of Discussions by Corporate Auditors").

Name of former director: Shigenobu Shimizu
Amount of damages claimed: approximately 70 million yen

In addition, the companies had been considering taking action against two executives who were confirmed to have engaged in the suspected order adjustment in the case.
As a result of the consideration, the companies are filing claims for damages against the two concerned personnel, and Miraiz has punished one of the personnel strictly in accordance with internal rules.

The companies will make further efforts to ensure thorough compliance so that no more cases of violation of the Antimonopoly Act will occur and no such suspicions will arise again in the future.

Attachment

Attachment1

Results of Discussions by Corporate Auditors

1 Summary of Investigation at Chubu Electric Power

All Chubu Electric Power auditors commissioned an investigation by an outside law firm that has no vested interest in the investigated directors and examined the related materials, while conducting interviews with the investigated directors and related former and current executives and employees, to investigate the facts and the responsibilities of the parties involved.
The board of corporate auditors has examined the results of these investigations and considered the necessity of pursuing responsibility.

2 Results of Examination at Chubu Electric Power

All of the corporate auditors of Chubu Electric Power have concluded that former director Shigenobu Shimizu ("Mr. Shimizu") is liable for negligence of duty as a result of his involvement in acts in violation of the Antimonopoly Act. Since damages have been incurred as a result of the acts, Chubu Electric Power has determined that it is appropriate to take strict action and has decided to file a lawsuit against Mr. Shimizu claiming compensation for damages.
On the other hand, there was no evidence of a breach of duty of care with respect to any of the investigated directors other than Mr. Shimizu.

3 Investigation and Examination at Miraiz

All auditors of Miraiz have conducted an investigation similar to the investigation at Chubu Electric Power (see 1 above) and have examined the necessity of pursuing responsibility.
As a result, the auditors did not find that there was a breach of the duty of care with respect to the investigated director.

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