Japan's industry ministry has started the formal steps toward ordering Chubu Electric to improve its business, but the order itself has not been issued. At a post-cabinet press conference on 30 October, the industry minister said the ministry began procedures under the Administrative Procedure Act that day, with the aim of issuing an order under the Electricity Business Act "early".
What the ministry said about Chubu Electric
The day before, the ministry had received Chubu Electric's responses to reporting orders covering three improper cases, the minister said. He called the string of cases "the height of regret" and said the ministry would scrutinise the responses and act "as strictly as possible", so that the company's reforms are fundamental, sufficient and reliably carried out.
The question put to him cited two strands at the Hamaoka nuclear plant: the standard seismic ground motion for units 3 and 4, and an improper case tied to the decommissioning of units 1 and 2, which the reporter described as an overcharge of just over ¥200mn. The minister's answer did not give a figure or a date for the order. He said other issues raised would also be covered by the responses to the reporting orders.
The distinction matters: starting procedures is a step toward an order, not the order. The ministry's answer gives no content for any order and no deadline. Earlier Tokyo Brief coverage
Policy box: winter electricity and gas relief
In the same conference the minister set out subsidies for December to February, starting one month earlier than last winter and weighted toward January and February, when electricity use peaks. Low-voltage power, used mainly by households, gets ¥1 per kWh in December and ¥4.5 in each of the next two months. High-voltage power, used mainly by small and medium-sized firms, gets ¥0.5, then ¥2.3 and ¥2.3. Gas gets ¥4 per cubic metre in December and ¥18 in January and February.
| Category | December | January | February |
|---|---|---|---|
| Low-voltage electricity, mainly households (per kWh) | ¥1 | ¥4.5 | ¥4.5 |
| High-voltage electricity, mainly small and medium-sized firms (per kWh) | ¥0.5 | ¥2.3 | ¥2.3 |
| Gas (per cubic metre) | ¥4 | ¥18 | ¥18 |
The ministry said a standard household would see a burden cut of about ¥7,000 across the three months for electricity and gas combined, in line with last winter. Whether support continues in March will be decided after looking at weather conditions and energy price trends.
The minister also covered fuel-oil subsidies. From December the base price will rise by ¥5 a month toward spring, "as a basic approach", while watching crude prices. The cabinet decided that day to put ¥1.1459tn from its Middle East contingency reserve into the fuel-oil price-mitigation fund, which the ministry says secures the fund size the measure needs. He tied the phasing to the government's wish to pursue continuous cost-of-living measures, including a cut in the consumption tax rate on food and drink from April next year onward.