Tokyo Electric Power

The Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) was established in 1951 with JPY 1.460 million in capital. With total assets of JPY 13.594 billion as of March 2006, TEPCO ranked first in Japan, and fourth among electricity companies worldwide. Japan is the third-largest energy consumer in the world.

Originally founded in 1886 as Tokyo Electric Lighting, the company began life as Japan's first electricity company, serving the general public since 1887. By 1920, more than 700 electricity firms were merged into five nationwide electricity suppliers. During World War II, the government took complete control of the industry via Nihon Hassoden K.K., distributing electricity through nine regional companies, namely Hokkaido, Tohoku, Tokyo, Chubu, Hokuriku, Kansai, Chugoku, Shikoku, and Kyushu. The Tokyo regional distributor formed the basis for TEPCO after the war. It serves the Kanto area (i.e., Tokyo, Kanagawa, Chiba, Saitama, Tochigi, Gunma, Ibaraki, Yamanashi, and parts of Shizuoka) of about 43.9 million people, or 34.4 percent of Japan's total electricity population.

The Niigata earthquake in July 2007 affected the operation of the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear power station, which is the world's largest nuclear power plant in terms of output capacity. The plant was forced to suspend operations, causing TEPCO's earnings to fall into the red for the first time in 28 years. TEPCO's president, Masataka Shimizu, is working to boost alternative sources of energy output and may, as a last resort, raise electricity charges for the first time since 1980.

Products and Services

TEPCO has an integrated power generation, transmission, and distribution system. Via its electricity utilization technology, it provides products such as heat-pump water heaters and air conditioners. [Page 1582]From its power quality-related technologies, it offers computer-related power system engineering services. It also offers products of various sensors and monitoring systems, visual machineries, software, as well as machinery products that support recycling and environmental technologies.

TEPCO takes the position that Japan should have a diversity of power generation sources to avoid excessive reliance on any one type of fuel. The main sources of TEPCO's energy supply are nuclear power, thermal power generation based on liquid natural gas (LNG), petroleum and coal, and hydroelectric power. Alternative or new energy sources to reduce carbon dioxide emissions include solar, wind, geothermal, fuel cell, biomass, and waste power generation. TEPCO pioneered the use of wind power in Japan with its 500 kW wind power plant on the island of Hachijo-jima. TEPCO established the Green Power Fund in 2000 with contributions from the company and its customers to support the use of natural energy by corporations and customers. In addition, TEPCO is active in research on new energy sources and promotes the spread of new energy through purchases of excessive power produced by facilities installed by its customers.

Corporate Structure and Global Presence

TEPCO supplies electricity through six affiliated companies. The company is diversified, offering information communication services through 14 affiliated companies in the areas of telecommunications, cable television broadcasting, information technology (IT) software and services, and construction and maintenance of information communication equipment. An additional 53 affiliates supply energy and environmental services, energy facility construction and maintenance, transportation of fuel, and materials and equipment. Twenty-six affiliated companies offer living environment and lifestyle-related services and real estate, and 14 affiliates are engaged in overseas business.

...