TEPCO and Chubu Electric merge thermal assets into joint venture

Integration of domestic thermal power and gas distribution businesses will be completed by April 2019.

Japanese power companies TEPCO and Chubu Electric have announced the third step of their JERA joint venture, that was established in 2015. The companies will integrate their domestic thermal power generation and gas distribution businesses into JERA by April 2019. The integration will concern 15 thermal power plants operated by TEPCO, with a generation capacity of 43 GW and an average production of 190 TWh (2016) and 10 Chubu Electric-operated power plants, with a capacity of 23 GW and a generation of 110 TWh (2016). It will also include four TEPCO LNG terminals (two fully owned, in Futtsu and Higashi-Ohgishima, and stakes in two others in Sodegaura and Negishi) and four Chubu Electric LNG terminals (three fully owned, namely Kawagoe, Yokkaichi and Joetsu, and stakes in the Chita LNG terminal). Chubu Electric and TEPCO will also group 14 affiliates and subsidiaries.

The two companies are implementing a 4-year, 3-step plan to integrate the energy businesses of the Japanese largest and third-largest regional power utilities, aiming at establishing a globally competitive energy company that will cover the whole energy value chain, from upstream fuel project investment and procurement, through power generation and wholesaling of power and gas. Through the transaction, JERA will become a US$20bn energy company and its capacity will account for nearly 50% of Japan's domestic thermal power generation. Once the integration "Step 3" is complete, JERA's consolidated net profit is expected to grow to approximately to JPY200bn (around US$1.89bn) by 2025.

This article was originally published by Enerdata.