Restructuring the Electricity Sector and Promoting Green Growth in Japan

Abstract

JT03342507Complete document available on OLIS in its original format This document and any map included herein are without prejudice to the status of or sovereignty over any territory, to the delimitation of international frontiers and boundaries and to the name of any territory, city or area. ECO/WKP(2013)61 Unclassified English -Or. English ECO/WKP(2013)61 2 ABSTRACT/RÉSUMÉ Restructuring the electricity sector and promoting green growth in JapanThe 2011 disaster and nuclear problems opened the door to a new energy policy, as they raised fundamental questions about the electricity system's ability to prevent and respond to accidents. In particular, the system has had difficulty coping with the shortages caused by the accident and the suspension of operations of nuclear power plants. Addressing these problems requires creating a more competitive electricity sector by reducing the dominance of the ten regional monopolies through ownership unbundling of generation and transmission and by expanding the wholesale market. It is also important to increase interconnection capacity, while introducing real-time pricing. The reduced role of nuclear power following the Fukushima accident makes it necessary to accelerate the expansion of renewable energy, which requires setting a sufficiently high and consistent price for carbon. Finally, the government should ensure the independence of the new Nuclear Regulatory Agency and create an independent regulator for the electricity sector to promote competition. This Working Paper relates to the 2013 OECD Economic Survey of Japan (www.oecd.org/eco/surveys/japan) JEL classification: Q40, Q41, Q42, Q48.

Public–private partnership in a smart city: A curious case in Japan

“…The objective was to increase competitiveness by reducing electricity rates (Kikkawa, 2021). At that time, 10 electric utilities supplied 88% of the electricity consumption in Japan (Jones and Kim, 2013).…”

“…However, since then the market liberalization has been "slow and ineffective" (Jones and Kim, 2013: 14) with the few general utility companies preserving their regional monopolies (Jones and Kim, 2013). As of March 2020, approximately 80% of total electricity sales were still generated by the 10 existing major power companies (including Tokyo Electric Power Company-TEPCO; Kikkawa, 2021).…”

“…The Japanese government's traditional role in the country's economic life endows it with important leverage to direct industrial development toward areas deemed nationally strategic. For instance, following the Great East Japan Earthquake and the explosions at Tokyo Electric Power Company's Fukushima Power Plant in 2011, the METI decided to shut down all nuclear power generation in Japan and radically change its energy strategy, shifting from nuclear power (which represented one-third of the total energy production) to renewable energy, which at the time was less than 3% (Jones and Kim, 2013). In this respect, the promotion and development of the renewable energy sector through smart city initiatives appears to be a shared interest in business-government partnerships.…”