Kansai Electric to Cut Electricity Rates in July

May 28, 2018

Tokyo- Kansai Electric Power Co. on Monday submitted to the industry ministry a plan to cut its electricity rates for households and institutional users by 5.36 pct on average on July 1.

The price cut reflects a decrease in thermal power generation costs following the reactivation of the No. 3 and No. 4 reactors at its Oi nuclear power plant in Fukui Prefecture, central Japan.

The move will come on the heels of the rate cut Kansai Electric carried out in August last year, after the utility serving the Kansai western Japan region resumed commercial operations at the No. 3 and No. 4 reactors at its Takahama nuclear power station, also in Fukui.

The No. 3 reactor at the Oi plant began commercial operations in April this year after going back online in March. The Oi No. 4 reactor, which was resumed earlier this month, has yet to switch to commercial mode. The two reactors each has output of 1.18 million kilowatts.

Kansai Electric, which heavily depends on nuclear energy for power generation, raised its electricity rates twice after the March 2011 severe accident at Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings Inc.'s <9501> tsunami-stricken Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant in northeastern Japan.

After the two rounds of cuts, the electricity rates at Kansai Electric are expected to fall close to levels before the nuclear disaster.

"We will make further efforts to boost our company's business efficiency and ensure safe and stable operations of the reactivated nuclear reactors," Kansai Electric President Shigeki Iwane said after submitting the rate cut plan to industry minister Hiroshige Seko at his ministry's office in Tokyo. Jiji Press