TEPCO seeks early talks on nuclear plant, will expand gas sales
Staff Writer |
Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings (TEPCO) intends to start at an early date business collaboration discussions with other companies for its Higashidori nuclear power plant in Aomori Prefecture, northeastern Japan, TEPCO President Tomoaki Kobayakawa said.
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“We hope that companies will sit at the negotiating table as early as possible to sort out issues,” Kobayakawa said.
TEPCO aims to realize around fiscal 2020 joint operations of the nuclear plant, where the power supplier plans to build a total of two reactors.
The company has yet to start full discussions, but is asking its industrial peers and heavy electric machinery makers for opinions, Kobayakawa said.
Taking into account increasing competition due to the country’s electricity market liberalization and higher costs for safety measures, Kobayakawa pointed to the importance of sharing knowledge for the overall nuclear business in the future.
Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings, Inc. plans to expand its city gas sales to households, the chief of its retail arm said in a recent interview.
“Our package sales of electricity and gas will be ready in the Kansai western Japan and Chubu central regions” in fiscal 2018, which starts in April, Toshihiro Kawasaki, president of TEPCO Energy Partner Inc., said.
The company aims to sell gas to the 60,000 customers of its electricity sales in the two regions.
TEPCO started gas sales in the Kanto eastern region, including Tokyo, in July 2017. The number of customers stood at some 126,000 as of Feb. 20, exceeding its first-year target of 100,000.
TEPCO Energy Partner expects to achieve one million customers in its gas sales, including through partner supplier Nippon Gas Co., in fiscal 2018, a year earlier than previously expected, Kawasaki said. ■