6 RENEWABLE ENERGY AS A NEW CHOICE FOR CONSUMERS …
137
months following energy market liberalization, the changeover ratio of
consumers from the previous monopoly supplier (Tokyo Electric Power,
TEPCO) had only reached approximately 20% in the Tokyo region, so the
impact of new power producers and suppliers on the market can be said to
remain small. I feel that one reason for this is that sufficient information is
not being conveyed about what the changes resulting from energy liberalization mean for ordinary consumers nationwide, and what the merits and
demerits of switching from the previous monopoly supplier to another
energy company are.
To begin with, a major part of the reason is that almost all new power
producers and suppliers try to compete with large power companies (especially the former monopolist EPCOs) on price. For electric power, which
is a product with a high production cost, differentiation in a situation
where price competition dominates is difficult and is not a strong enough
incentive to motivate consumers to switch to new suppliers. Consequently, the current situation is that the liberalized electric power market
has fallen into a price competition spiral (Fig. 6.1).
The New Electric Power Company (Minna
Denryoku) Sells Renewable Energy
Even under these conditions, new power producers and suppliers that
raise the topics of choice and use of renewable energy exist. Minna
Denryoku (Everyone’s Electricity) stock company, with its base in Setagaya Ward of Tokyo Metropolis, is one of them. The domestic top-class
renewable energy-type power producer and supplier Minna Denryoku,
which has achieved a renewable energy supply rate of above 75%, poses
the following question to us: “Can you see the face on the other side of
the socket?” The electricity that we use every day must necessarily come
from a power plant, and it may be electricity generated by a coal-fired
plant, or it may be electricity made using sustainable forms of energy such
as sunlight or hydropower. Using the opportunity of electric power liberalization, we are offering the choice of renewable energy to the ordinary
consumer.
The “Electric Power with a Face” System
Minna Denryoku’s special feature is being organized as a “power
company with a face,” which it has trademarked. “Power company with
137
months following energy market liberalization, the changeover ratio of
consumers from the previous monopoly supplier (Tokyo Electric Power,
TEPCO) had only reached approximately 20% in the Tokyo region, so the
impact of new power producers and suppliers on the market can be said to
remain small. I feel that one reason for this is that sufficient information is
not being conveyed about what the changes resulting from energy liberalization mean for ordinary consumers nationwide, and what the merits and
demerits of switching from the previous monopoly supplier to another
energy company are.
To begin with, a major part of the reason is that almost all new power
producers and suppliers try to compete with large power companies (especially the former monopolist EPCOs) on price. For electric power, which
is a product with a high production cost, differentiation in a situation
where price competition dominates is difficult and is not a strong enough
incentive to motivate consumers to switch to new suppliers. Consequently, the current situation is that the liberalized electric power market
has fallen into a price competition spiral (Fig. 6.1).
The New Electric Power Company (Minna
Denryoku) Sells Renewable Energy
Even under these conditions, new power producers and suppliers that
raise the topics of choice and use of renewable energy exist. Minna
Denryoku (Everyone’s Electricity) stock company, with its base in Setagaya Ward of Tokyo Metropolis, is one of them. The domestic top-class
renewable energy-type power producer and supplier Minna Denryoku,
which has achieved a renewable energy supply rate of above 75%, poses
the following question to us: “Can you see the face on the other side of
the socket?” The electricity that we use every day must necessarily come
from a power plant, and it may be electricity generated by a coal-fired
plant, or it may be electricity made using sustainable forms of energy such
as sunlight or hydropower. Using the opportunity of electric power liberalization, we are offering the choice of renewable energy to the ordinary
consumer.
The “Electric Power with a Face” System
Minna Denryoku’s special feature is being organized as a “power
company with a face,” which it has trademarked. “Power company with