Japan cabinet approves Electricity Business Act amendment to boost grid and generation

The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) announced a draft amendment to the Electricity Business Act that was decided by the Cabinet and will be submitted to the 221st Diet.

• Main action: METI will enable certification by the Minister for regional transmission-line development plans and large-scale power source development plans, and the Power Wide-area Operation Promotion Organization will provide loans using fiscal investment and financing to fund construction. The bill also requires prior consultation when large-scale generators plan to retire capacity and designates mid-to-long-term and supply-adjustment wholesale markets as subject to ministerial designation and supervision.
• Background and details: The bill is framed as a response to changing international energy conditions and rising domestic demand from DX/GX; it includes expansion of loan funding sources, routing of price-difference revenues from wide-area power trading to the national treasury for use in grid projects, and safety requirements for solar PV support structures including pre-construction conformity checks by registered third-party bodies. Related PDF documents and contact points are provided by METI (see document_urls and contacts).