Clever techniques for purchasing electricity

Transcription

1 n o at z a r e b! s u F gn be Cever technques for purchasng eectrcty Make your choce today What does the fu berazaton of the eectrcty reta market mean? What w change, who w beneft, why and n what way? Ths new system aows househods and stores to seect an eectrcty provder that best meets ther preferences. Here we expan the new system n an easy-to-understand way. Cevery utzng the benefts of berazaton stands to mprove one s everyday fe. 04 METI Journa Cever technques for purchasng eectrcty T he fu berazaton of eectrcty reta market started on Apr 1. The meda has provded coverage on new-entry power companes and ther servces, but do you know the detas? Unt now, househods and stores coud ony purchase eectrcty from the power companes n ther regon. However, the market has now been opened and entry nto the eectrcty reta busness fuy berazed as of ths sprng, aowng a consumers to freey seect whch power companes they w buy eectrcty from. Whe the berazaton began some tme ago for mass consumers arge-scae factores, department stores and offce budngs categorzed as extra-hgh votage became abe to freey seect a power company n March 2000, whe medum- and sma-scae factores and medum- and sma-szed enterprses categorzed as hgh votage were abe to do so snce Apr 2004 and Apr 2005, respectvey now, fnay, househods and stores categorzed as ow votage can tap the same benefts of seectng The vtazaton of the eectrcty market benefts socety as a whoe It s expected that the fu berazaton of eectrcty reta market w provde wde rangng benefts sted beow for exampe. It s consdered that competton among many busness operators drves ncreased effcency forward, such as through reduced prces and mproved servces. Furthermore, such vtazaton of the market s aso cosey reated to the growth of the Japanese economy. The sze of the market that w be opened wth ths berazaton s approxmatey 8 tron yen. Combned wth the market that had been berazed n a phased manner up unt now, the tota sze w be approxmatey 18 tron yen. Incudng the reevant servces we can expect an even arger postve economc effect. The berazaton of eectrcty w be a major turnng pont for Japanese socety as a whoe. In the foowng pages, et s go through reevant nformaton on how to navgate and thnk about ths new system. You can keep eectrcty expenses down You can choose a power company You can choose a power company accordng to your needs, such as the desre to swtch to a power company offerng ower prces, to seect t h e u t t y c o m p a n y f ro m your hometown, or to use eectrcty generated n an envronmentay-frendy way. The quaty of eectrcty s bascay the same among a utty companes. W th many busness operators enterng the eectrcty reta market, compettve market prncpes w take hod, and the prce of eectrcty w be suppressed to the mnmum eve. Lkewse, wth competton among utty companes over rate pans and servces, the abty for consumers to purchase eectrcty at more reasonabe prces w ncrease. You can save eectrcty accordng to your festye Utty companes are startng to offer pans that provde dfferent rates for dfferent perods or days of the week. Seectng a pan accordng to your festye, such as usng ess eectrcty durng the daytme or usng more eectrcty on weekends, w ead to easy energy conservaton and waetfrendy eectrcty savngs. METI Journa 05

2 It s not too ate! How to swtch your eectrcty provder What do you specfcay need to do to sgn up wth a dfferent utty company? There s nothng dffcut about the process. Let s go through the genera fow. Whch w you choose? New pans and servces are emergng one after another! The market s revtazed wth companes n varous ndustres and muncpates enterng the busness of eectrcty retang! A wde varety of new rate pans and servces are now beng offered. 1 Insta a smart meter Repace the exstng meter wth a smart meter. Appy for t wth the newy seected power company, and the regona power company you currenty use w send you a notce on the schedued repacement date. The repacement s free of charge n prncpe (there may be cases where a fee s charged for the repacement work). 2 Companes are offerng servces wth dscounted rates by contractng eectrcty n combnaton wth other servces that are currenty beng used by househods, ncudng gas, mobe phone, nternet, and CATV. Bunde dscount Tme perod dscount How much eectrcty s used n what hours may dffer accordng to famy structure and festye. Therefore, there are pans wth dfferent eectrcty rates for dfferent tmes of the day and week, such as dscounted rates durng the mornng or dscounted rates at nght. Compare and choose Renewabe energy generaton servce Loca producton for oca consumpton Frst, compare factors such as prce, servce, envronmenta frendness, etc. and seect a power company that best meets your preferences. Then, appy to swtch through the servce counter, ca center, or webste of the company. Your newy seected power company w carry out the procedure for eavng your current utty company. 3 Eectrcty s supped From the date specfed under the contract, eectrcty w be supped from the newy seected utty company. The perod from appcaton to the actua swtchng of companes w be about two weeks when repacement of a smart meter s requred, and about four days f a smart meter s aready nstaed (tmes may vary dependng on appcaton voume). Make a smart choce and enjoy the advantages of berazaton! As expaned above, t doesn t take much tme or effort to swtch to a new power company. Start by consderng why you want to swtch. W you seect a company wth ower prces, or a company wth more satsfyng servces? The purpose w vary from househod to househod. Of course, you don t need to fee rushed, because eectrcty w be supped as aways even f you don t do anythng. However, t s aso true that you can enjoy the advantages of the berazaton by seectng a power company and rate pan that suts your househod best. Therefore, t s recommended to thoroughy consder your optons. For your nformaton, you do not need to nsta a new eectrcty cabe when swtchng to a new power company. In addton, even n the unkey case of the newy contracted company gong bankrupt, eectrcty w contnue to be supped by your orgna provder. A new company shoud be commencng servce n your regon now. Pease make a smart choce. There are aso power companes many seng eectrcty generated wth renewabe energy, such as wnd power, soar power, water power, and geotherma heat. These optons are attractve to peope who woud ke to ve on envronmentayfrendy energy resources or want to support the dffuson of such energy. The roe of a smart meter, whch supports the eectrcty servce It used to be dffcut for househods to determne what amount of eectrcty was used n what hours, on what days. However, by nstang a smart meter, you can understand eectrcty use every 30 mnutes. Vsuazaton of househod eectrcty use shoud ead to hgher awareness of eectrcty savng. The data shoud aso be usefu for consderng the best rate pan for the househod. A smart meter s aso benefca for the power company. Because t can transmt nformaton on ts own, there s no need for empoyees to vst the meter n person n order to obtan readngs. Aso detaed data on eectrcty use n each househod provdes vauabe nformaton for the deveopment of new rate pans and servces. There are aso regona power companes beng founded many by oca governments such as prefectures or ctes. By purchasng eectrcty from the oca eectrcty retaers n your regon, you can aso contrbute to revtazng the oca ndustry. Metroogca [TEPCO] Communcaton [KEPCO] Metroogca Aows for measurement every 30 mnutes and remote meter readng! Communcaton 06 METI Journa Cever technques for purchasng eectrcty METI Journa 07

3 NEC / Opower Inc. baancng suppy and demand, ncreasng customer satsfacton and ntroducng recommended rate pans New servces to support eectrcty market berazaton Reated new servces that make berazaton even more vauabe are drawng pubc attenton. Let s take a ook at the servces that support power companes busness goas and offer convenence to consumers. B to B Improvng servces s mportant for power companes customer acquston. At the same tme, for new reta market entrants that dd not prevousy have drect connecton wth the eectrcty reta busness, there are aso other serous consderatons such as ensurng reabe eectrcty demand forecastng. In ths context, varous servces are emergng to support eectrcty retaers busness. Provde coud servces to new-entry power companes NEC provdes to cents both customer nformaton management system and eectrcty suppy & demand management system that enabe a prompt aunch of eectrcty reta Enechange Co., Ltd./ Kakaku.com, Inc. B to C You don t know what power companes are n your regon? Or are you havng troube comparng rate pans? There are onne servces that can hep! By enterng nformaton such as your zp code, currenty contracted company, and househod characterstcs, the servce w recommend a power company and rate pan for you. Improve the precson of eectrcty consumpton forecasts wth an orgna agorthm Usng unque technooges and methods to ncrease the compettveness of power companes. Tes the rate pan that best matches your househod Enechange, an eectrcty comparson ste, s one of such servces. After you answer questons on the webste, a st of rate pans w be generated. Informaton shown ncudes the amount that can be saved, whether a bunde dscount and/or pont servce s avaabe, and many other usefu resources. Informaton such as the breakdown of forecasted savngs and reasons for recommended pans can aso be accessed. The defnng characterstc of Enechange s that t mproves the precson of rate smuaton by usng an orgnay-deveoped agorthm to forecast eectrcty consumpton. By statstcay anayzng the HEMS data coected from severa thousand househods and combnng t wth meteoroogca data, the company can forecast eectrcty use by regon and by busness. Especay for new retaers enterng from dfferent ndustres, they are not famar wth new busness processes such as eectrcty bng, suppy and demand baance montorng processes. It woud take substanta nvestment and effort for them to create orgna systems from scratch. NEC therefore provdes coud-based servces to meet customers need, and back up customers busness by fexbe soutons offered n accordance wth ther busness szes. In addton, NEC aso has started to work n coaboraton wth companes from the U.S. that are frontrunners of the berazed energy market. It cooperates wth Space-Tme Insght, Inc. whch s partcuary adept n reatme anayss and vsuazaton of bg data, and Sacramento Muncpa Utty Dstrct, an entty that has reazed hgh customer satsfacton n the compettve market n Caforna, where the suppy and generaton of eectrcty are unbunded. By combnng NEC s exstng technooges such as HEMS and energy storage wth ICT, NEC s deveopng new servces that contrbute to the effcency use of energy. Improve customer satsfacton by utzng behavora scence Opower enabes superor reatonshpbudng between eectrcty provders and ther customers. Opower s servces aso began n the Unted States, but snce ts foundaton n 2007, the company has grown to support over 100 eectrcty and gas provders n nne countres around the word. Opower s servces prmary nvove provdng usefu nsghts to end-use customers based on anayss of ther energy usage data. Ths enabes energy tme perod. Pursue ease of understandng from the customer s vew Kakaku.com, known as a ste for comparng a wde range of products, has aso started an eectrcty rate comparson servce. The company has a ong hstory of comparng not ony products such as home appances and PCs but aso servces such as Internet provders and nsurances, and appes the know-how t has cutvated to the newy compettve eectrcty market. The company streamnes nformaton necessary for seectng a rate pan from the users vewpont, and focuses ts effort on mprovng ease of understandng. For nstance, by cckng the detas of the rate n the pan shown, you can check the basc rate, metered rate, dscounted amount, and actua cost you pay. Further, n order to seect an even more optma pan, you can nput the mobe phone carrer and gas utty provders to become trusted energy advsors, offerng servces that ncrease customers confdence. One of the reasons Opower servces are n demand throughout the word s ther nnovatve use of behavora scence. How nformaton s perceved and acted upon depends argey on the manner and mode of communcaton. For exampe, rather than smpy reportng energy usage amounts as s, provdng feedback wth soca context, such as your househod s usng 15% more eectrcty than your most smar neghbors, substantay changes how Varous mechansms to support eectrcty retaors Supportng the prompt aunch of busness Coud-based servces Management of eectrcty suppy and demand Customer nformaton management Eectrcty retaer Eectrcty comparson ste Enechange company that you currenty use to fnd out the tota amount that can potentay be saved. Vsts to the stes of both Enechange and Kakaku.com ncreased sharpy from around eary January ths year. Both companes offer a servce for actuay swtchng one s eectrcty provder va ther stes, and appcatons to do so are ncreasng steady. Strengthenng connectons wth end-use customers va bg data anayss and behavora scence and whether ths nformaton s read and understood. One energy provder n the U.K. usng these very servces to ncrease customer satsfacton provdes an ustratve exampe. In a hghy compettve market where one out of ten customers swtch energy provders every year, ths company has successfuy dfferentated tsef from ts compettors. NEC smart energy Opower Inc. Kakaku.com eectrcty rate comparson Compare varous pans at once! The nformaton entered va the webste ncudes zp code, number of househod members, current eectrcty expense, and hours spent at home. It s aso possbe to sgn up for a pan va the ste. In addton to pan comparson, there are aso abundant resources avaabe to understand more about the eectrcty market. As for the future, both companes say, we want to deveop a servce targeted at the berazaton of the gas market next year. It seems that Internet based servces are becomng an ever ncreasngy mportant ay n seectng energy utty provders. 08 METI Journa Cever technques for purchasng eectrcty METI Journa 09

4 Let s ask an expert! What s requred from consumers n eectrcty berazaton? Above a, we must make an ndependent choce. We ntervewed Mr. Ryuch Inagak, a awyer who serves as actng charman at the Eectrcty and Gas Market Surveance Commsson (EGC), naugurated n September 2015, about the sgnfcance of seectng eectrcty company and ts mpact n socety. The Eectrcty Busness Act refers to those who use eectrcty as users. On the other hand, power companes suppy eectrcty. In ths user and supper reatonshp, an equtabe transacton envronment cannot reay be fet. Such a stuaton of suppy and use that had contnued for over 60 years has now changed sgnfcanty wth the ntroducton of the fu berazaton of the eectrcty reta market. That s how I understand the stuaton. If ths s the case, n addton to reaby suppyng eectrcty, power companes must now thnk harder to understand what the consumers are requrng. Consumers must aso be aware that ther poston s now more than one of smpy user of eectrcty. Creatng a heathy market wth regstraton system and busness operaton gudenes Not smpy energy, but somethng wth greater potenta On the other hand, promotng far competton among busness operators s aso one of our mportant roes. In Japan, eectrcty has been supped n a safe and stabe fashon, even by wordwde standards, for a ong tme. We are determned to create an attractve market whe mantanng a commtment to mportant cutura and asset consderatons. It s expected, for nstance, that servces utzng bg data and IoT w deveop aong wth the dffuson of smart meters. Aso, new busness modes shoud emerge through coaboraton among busness operators of dfferent feds. Eectrcty s not merey energy, but s becomng somethng wth greater potenta to make our festyes even better. What s uncertan about eectrcty berazaton? Q & A In order to make an ndependent seecton We answer questons from consumers 3 Are there cases where an expensve canceaton penaty s mposed? It s requred by aw that power companes expan rates and condtons of canceaton by provdng reevant wrtten documents. Pease check the detas before sgnng a new contract. Settng an unreasonaby expensve canceaton penaty s subject to a correcton order by the Mnster of Economy, Trade and Industry. Ths fu berazaton of eectrcty reta market, whch s a The act of seectng a power company to buy eectrcty from part of breakng through bedrock reguatons, may serve as s ndcatve of the consumer s w as t reates to what knd of a catayst for vtazng Japan. To reaze ths, I woud ke the eectrcty system they wsh to support. Cumuatvey, ths may users of eectrcty to seect ther own power company n an even have an mpact on decson-makng about the natona ndependent manner. Eectrcty s necessary for a peope. the power source mx. 5 The sgnfcance and nfuence of ts seecton s qute arge, The EGC sets a certan framework n the market so that such and can be a drver for soca change. berty of consumer choce s securey protected. The man The EGC contnues to supervse the eectrcty market whe measures are the regstraton system for eectrcty retaers hearng opnons from consumers. We woud ke to deveop and the formuaton of rues such as the Gudenes on an envronment n whch each ndvdua can make a seecton Eectrcty Retang Busness. wthout worry. Aso, varous knds of nformaton are provded va webstes and brefng sessons hed throughout Japan. There are aso excusve nqury counters. Pease do not hestate to consut Mnstry of Economy, Trade and Industry the EGC f you have any concerns, no matter how sma, Actng Charman, Eectrcty and Gas Market about swtchng to a new power company. Surveance Commsson We are workng wth enthusasm to create a heathy eectrcty Lawyer market together wth consumers, whe aso drecty gvng Mr. Ryuch Inagak nstructons to busness operators. Assumed hs current post n September 2015 after becomng a member of the Insttutona Desgn Workng Group, Eectrcty System Reform Subcommttee METI Journa Cever technques for purchasng eectrcty I m satsfed wth my current eectrcty pan. W the current rate reman n the future? At east unt March 2020, the current genera rate pan remans a transtona measure. Some of the rate pans may change from the current pan, so pease confrm wth your eectrcty company. 1 I want to fnd out what retaers are operatng n my regon! The regons to whch power companes suppy eectrcty dffer by each eectrcty retaer. Pease contact each power company frst. The regstraton st aso shows nformaton on the supped regon and saes to househods of each retaer. 2 If I m vng n an apartment, can Lst of regstered eectrcty retaers I seect the power company? You can buy eectrcty from another power company even when vng n an apartment (housng compex) f you are contractng ndvduay wth a utty company. However, f a the househods of the apartment budng are under a package dea contract (hgh votage buk eectrcty recevng) through a management assocaton, the procedure becomes dfferent. Pease check the management assocaton of the housng compex for detas. Who shoud I contact durng an eectrcty outage? 4Frst, pease contact the power company that you have entered nto a contract wth. There are bascay two types of causes of eectrcty outage: when there s a probem n eectrc factes of the househod (nsde), and when there s a probem n eectrcty transmsson and dstrbuton facty (outsde). You can aso request an nqury by the genera transmsson/dstrbuton busness operator n the regon. 6I want to check the power source mx. Where can I get the nformaton? Dscosure of the power source mx, or the breakdown of what knd of eectrcty the power company s seng, s stated as the desrabe act n the Gudenes on Eectrcty Retang Busness. Pease check the webste or brochures of each eectrcty retaer. 10 METI Journa 11 Frequenty asked questons

5 METI, Opnons of the person n charge What s the Gudenes on Eectrcty Retang Busness? We reman n the background to support consumers, who are the centra payers. The centra payer of berazaton s consumers, says Mr. Ryosuke Fujoka of the Agency for Natura Resources and Energy. Mr. Wataru Sakura of the Executve bureau of the Eectrcty and Gas Market Surveance Commsson (EGC) keeps watch on the promoton of far practces n the market. METI has been formuatng mutpe gudenes toward the fu berazaton of eectrcty reta market. The Gudenes on Eectrcty Retang Busness s one of them. These gudenes ncude the probematc act and desrabe act from the perspectve of far market trade. For each tem such as nformaton provson, operaton/ contract format, detas of reta suppy contract and response to compants and nqures, the gudenes demonstrate the approach of consumer protecton. The gudenes can aso be used by consumers when seectng a power company. Desrabe acts Dscosure of approprate standard menu Dscosure of the exampe of monthy expenses under average use of eectrcty Expanaton of the possbty of a penaty mposed wth the canceaton of an exstng contract when swtchng power companes Dscosure of the power source mx on the webste of the company Probematc acts Fang to show nformaton on whch the bng s based, such as eectrcty consumed Soctng customer use a servce based on mseadng nformaton such as our company s eectrcty s ess vunerabe to power outage Fang to show the eectrc power source rato pan or the past performance n marketng focusng on the power source mx -- What s your roe n ths eectrcty berazaton? Fujoka: I beong to the Eectrcty Market Deveopment Offce of the Agency for Natura Resources and Energy, and Mr. Sakura beongs to the Eectrcty and Gas Market Surveance Commsson, and we have dfferent roes. The Agency for Natura Resources and Energy s many n charge of nsttutona desgn necessary for eectrc system reform and the operaton thereof. Sakura: On the other hand, the EGC supervses the eectrcty market and sets rues for the market. As the commsson, we contnuousy oversee the market to ensure that far trade takes pace. In addton, the EGC aso makes proposas to the Mnster of Economy, Trade and Industry on settng rues, as an organzaton under the Eectrcty Cty gas Market surveance commsson mmedate contro of the mnster. Impement bod reform under a reastc schedue -- What s your vew of eectrcty berazaton as someone actuay engaged n the project? Fujoka: The fu berazaton of eectrcty reta market started n Apr 2016 and s the second phase of the eectrcty system reform, foowng the estabshment of the Organzaton for the Cross-regona Coordnaton of Transmsson Operators mpemented n Apr 2015 (refer to the dagram beow). The ega unbundng of the eectrcty transmsson and dstrbuton sector s beng schedued for Eectrcty becomes an ordnary product/servce by takng steps one at a tme ke ths. It used to be a market wth ony one product on the shef, but now there Entre schedue of the energy system reform are dfferent products to choose from. I beeve that the man purpose of the berazaton s to create a stuaton wheren consumers can fee that ther vng becomes better wth the reform of the eectrcty system. Sakura: Of course reduced eectrcty expenses are one of the benefts, but what s most mportant s that now there are new pan neups. Just ke a menu at a restaurant, you can choose what you ke from the neup. At the same tme, the act of makng a seecton comes wth responsbty. We must create a market where we can make choces wthout worry, and t s aso necessary to et consumers know about the mechansm of the market. We try to be creatve, for exampe at brefng sessons hed throughout Japan, to rase awareness, such as Beware of ths knd of eectrcty Apr 1, 2015 Apr 1, 2016 Apr 1, 2017 Apr 1, 2020 Apr 1, 2022 Frst phase Estabshment of the Organzaton for the Cross-regona Coordnaton of Transmsson Operators Estabshment of the Eectrcty Market Surveance Commsson Second phase Fu berazaton of eectrcty reta market Operaton aso starts for gas Fu berazaton of gas reta market Aboton of reguated tarff Perod for transtona measure Thrd phase Lega unbundng of the eectrcty transmsson and dstrbuton sector Reguated tarffs remans for utty companes wth nsuffcent compettve stuatons * The name s changed to Eectrcty and Gas Markets Surveance Commsson (EGC) Hereafter, the compettve stuaton of each utty company s confrmed and the perod ends Lega unbundng of the gas ppene servce (major three companes) retaer. Fujoka: In terms of a market wthout worry, I thnk t s mportant that the exstng rate structure s mantaned after Apr Consderng the U.S. and European cases, markets ahead of us n terms of eectrcty berazaton, we can expect a certan degree of confuson as the transton takes pace and thus shoud set a certan grace perod. The basc stance of the eectrcty reform s to mpement bod reform under a reastc schedue. Sakura: At east up to March 2020, the exstng genera rate pan w reman. The EGC supervses the compettve stuaton of the market, whe aso watchng cosey how far the berazaton dffuses among consumers, and responds on a caseby-case bass to any probems. Because t s an mportant reform that nvoves a ctzens, t s mperatve to carry t forward carefuy. Rotate the PDCA cyce by settng a verfcaton perod -- Gudenes targeted at eectrcty companes are deveoped, and fnay the fu berazaton of eectrcty reta market has begun. Pease express your wshes toward the future. Sakura: The Gudenes on Eectrcty Retang Busness (refer to the coumn above) was formuated ths January, and the Gudenes on Far Eectrcty Trade was aso revsed n March. The Gudenes show probematc acts and desrabe acts. Hearng and onste nspecton are aso mpemented f there are any probems. The Gudenes try to protect the nterests of ndvdua consumers whe pacng prorty on the ndependence of the companes. Fujoka: The Gudenes precsey provde a structure that adheres to the purpose of adequatey provdng nformaton so that the aternatves for consumers ncrease. What s mportant movng forward s to rotate the PDCA cyce securey by consderng the purpose of the reform. In order to do so, n ths eectrcty system reform, a verfcaton perod s set to check the progress for each process. The reform s ony partay compete. The most mportant changes are yet to come. Sakura: Aso, for settng rues, t s necessary to understand the actua stuaton, and make correctons fexby where necessary. Because consumers w pay the centra roe n the berazaton, we w aso hear the opnons of those who use the eectrcty. Fujoka: That s rght. We shoud reman n the background, nstead of takng the ntatve for nnovaton. However, we beeve that we can promote nnovaton through arrangng the envronment. For exampe, a negawatt trade market s schedued to be created n the future. We woud ke to create new busness opportuntes by estabshng a market n whch saved eectrcty can be traded. I expect that unque chaengers who can present new vaue to consumers w emerge from such ntatves. 12 METI Journa Cever technques for purchasng eectrcty METI Journa 13 (From eft) Mr. Wataru Sakura, Secton Head, Pocy Pannng Dvson, Executve bureau of the Eectrcty and Gas Market Surveance Commsson Mr. Ryosuke Fujoka Senor Secton Head, Eectrcty Market Deveopment Offce, Pocy Pannng Dvson, Eectrcty and Gas Industry Department, Agency for Natura Resources and Energy The Eectrcty Market Deveopment Offce s n charge of nsttutona desgn necessary to accompsh eectrc system reform and the operaton thereof. The EGC supervses the eectrcty market so that heathy competton takes pace and makes proposas to set rues n order to ead the reform to success. Agency for Natura Resources and Energy Fu berazaton of eectrcty reta market Eectrcty and Gas Market Surveance Commsson Fu berazaton of eectrcty reta market