On August 18, 2018, Hokkaido Electric Power (HEPCO, Headquarters: Sapporo City, Hokkaido Prefecture[1]) announced that it will enter the city-gas retail business[2] in Hokkaido Prefecture. It has registered HEPCO as a Gas Retailer based on the Gas Business Act, along with “Hokuden Gas” as a business trademark. Starting from October 1, 2020, HEPCO will supply gas to its customers in six cities in Hokkaido Prefecture, including Sapporo City, Otaru City, Ishikari City, Kitahiroshima City, Chitose City, and Eniwa City.

HEPCO is working on the creation of a secure system to ensure customer safety with affordable gas rate plans. For business customers, HEPCO will offer value-added energy related services, including energy audit service using the city-gas, in addition to delivering Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG).

HEPCO has become the seventh major utility company to register as a gas retailer after Japan’s deregulation of the city-gas retail business in April 2017, after Tokyo Electric Power (TEPCO, Headquarters: Tokyo), Kansai Electric Power (KEPCO, Headquarters: Osaka City, Osaka Prefecture), Chubu Electric Power (Chuden, Headquarters: Nagoya City, Aichi Prefecture), Kyushu Electric Power (Kyuden, Headquarters: Fukuoka City, Fukuoka Prefecture), Tohoku Electric Power (Tohoku, Headquarters: Sendai City, Miyagi Prefecture), and Shikoku Electric Power (Yonden, Headquarters: Takamatsu City, Kagawa Prefecture).[3]

[1] http://www.hepco.co.jp/english/company/corporateprofile.html

[2] The city-gas retail business is equivalent to the natural gas retail business specializing in selling and supplying the gas to residential and commercial & industrial customers in the U.S.

[3] http://www.hepco.co.jp/info/2020/1250975_1844.html

Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings (TEPCO), headquartered in Tokyo, announced on November 12, 2019, that it would expand its electricity rate plans to include residential customers outside of its existing service areas in regions such as Hokkaido, Hokuriku, Chugoku, and Shikoku regions from November 13, 2019.

TEPCO provides residential customers with three electricity rate plans. The Standard S and Standard L plans are available in the Hokkaido and Hokuriku regions, and the Standard A plan is available in the Chugoku and Shikoku regions. When compared to the existing prices provided by the incumbent utility companies in each area, the TEPCO rate plans will save each customer about 3% of their electricity costs.

In Japan, the retail electricity market has been completely deregulated since April 1, 2016, and consumers—including households and businesses—are allowed to freely choose their retail electricity providers and rate plans. Since then, TEPCO has been providing discount electricity rate plans for residential customers in the Chubu and Kansai regions, and in the Tohoku and Kyushu regions since August 2019. Currently, the company offers services nationwide except in Okinawa Prefecture.[1]

[1] http://www.tepco.co.jp/ep/notice/pressrelease/2019/1520325_8664.html