The energy market environment in Japan drastically changed in fiscal 2011 according to a report on the domestic energy liberalization and energy service markets entitled "Market Strategy of Power/Gas/Energy Services 2012," released on February 13, 2012, by Fuji Keizai Co., a Japanese marketing research firm.

Due to damage to gas pipelines and manufacturing facilities as well as the accident at the nuclear power plant in Fukushima caused by the Great East Japan Earthquake and its subsequent tsunami, and resulting postponement of resuming operations at nuclear power plants throughout Japan, the functions of the energy infrastructure in Japan, through which energy had been stably supplied before the Earthquake, have been restricted.

Electricity supply, in particular, was heavily affected and the market environment drastically changed; electricity consumers have strengthened their efforts to save electricity due to energy supply instability. While energy suppliers have made efforts to maintain stable energy supply and procurement, energy management system/service business operators have tried to meet the needs for electricity saving measures.

Electric power sales in fiscal 2010 by business operators other than general power suppliers, known as power producers and suppliers (PPS), increased by 30 percent from the previous fiscal year to 19.96 billion kWh, while in fiscal 2011 the amount is estimated to have been nearly flat at 20.06 billion kWh, up 0.5 percent from the previous year, resulting from difficulty in electricity procurement as well as conservation efforts by existing customers.

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Posted: 2012/05/24 06:00:15 AM

TAG Energy , Non-manufacturing industry