On July 30, 2019, Kansai Electric Power announced that it would acquire 17.67% of the total shares of Electricity North West Limited, an electricity distribution network operator in the United Kingdom.[1] It will be the first time for Kansai to participate in the electricity distribution network in Europe. Kansai Electric Power will be the first Japanese power utility company to invest in a large-scale electricity distribution network company that is currently in operation overseas.
The United Kingdom is expected to expand distributed energy resource and shift its primary source of heating from gas to electricity, as part of its goal to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The country’s electricity distribution network is therefore required to be upgraded. Electricity North West Limited provides electricity to about 5 million customers in the Manchester to Cumbria area through a 57,000km distribution network. Kansai Electric Power will work with Electricity North West Limited to upgrade and maintain the local electricity distribution networks, while exploring for more business opportunities in the United Kingdom.[2]
[1] https://www.kepco.co.jp/corporate/pr/2019/pdf/0730_1j_01.pdf