Publication date: Aug 3, 2026 Amended EBA allows METI oversight of Balancing and planned Mid-Long Term markets The amended Electricity Business Act (EBA) was officially passed by the House of Councilors on July 17th, 2026, and will come into effect in September. The amended EBA’s main provisions are as follows: The Act establishes a financing …
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Publication date: July 27, 2026 Japan Data Center Update 28: Workload Shifting and GX Strategy Drive Japan’s Data Center Decentralization PowerX and HIGHRESO jointly explore BESS-equipped GPU data centers BESS manufacturer PowerX and GPU data center operator HIGHRESO have signed an MoU to explore collaboration on energy infrastructure supporting GPU data centers and AI computing …
Publication date: July 24, 2026 Balancing Market Price Caps Are Lowered to JPY 10/ΔkW-30 Min from September The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) presented a policy at the Power Supply Stability Working Group (WG) to lower the price caps for certain products in the balancing market. For Frequency Containment Reserve (FCR, or Primary), …
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Publication date: July 21, 2026 Japan Data Center Update 27: Data Center Decentralization Drives Nationwide Grid Investment Japan’s major utilities to add 15 GW of substation capacity amid data center demand growth Eight major utilities, including TEPCO, will strengthen transmission infrastructure by constructing or expanding substations at 30 locations nationwide to accommodate growing data center …
Publication date: July 20, 2026 Japan to Launch First Off-Site Nuclear PPA Kansai Electric Power announced that it will sell electricity generated by existing nuclear power plants together with environmental certificates under an off-site PPA framework, which will be the first for Japan. Until now, off-site PPAs have mainly been focused on renewable energy sources …
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Five developments shaping Japan’s power market this month, from the government’s plan to replace up to 14 nuclear reactors to a surge in solar curtailment that nearly doubled in a single month. Nuclear status holds steady as Japan reveals a 14-reactor ambition No change in Japan’s nuclear operational status in May, but the Japanese government …
Publication date: July 16, 2026 The Okhotsk Story: What Happened to the Hot Summer? What happened Every major forecaster predicted a hot summer. Instead, June was the coolest in the Reiwa era, the coldest since 2012. Tokyo had just 2 days above 30°C (same as Sapporo). Average temperature was 21.5°C, which was lower than in …
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Publication date: July 15, 2026 Japan Data Center Update 26: Kyushu Emerges as Data Center and Related Manufacturing Hub Partial construction of the 350 MW data center project in Satsumasendai to start FY2026 Satsumasendai City has disclosed the schedule for one of Japan’s largest planned data centers, a 350 MW project in Satsumasendai City, Kagoshima …
Publication date: July 10, 2026 LTDA To Better Reflect Rising Costs From 2027 The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) has held an expert meeting to discuss the new framework for the fourth round of the Long-Term Decarbonized Power Source Auction (LTDA), scheduled for next January (see our previous newsletter for the FY2026 third-round …
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Publication date: July 7, 2026 Japan Data Center Update 25: Regulatory Easing and Utility Coordination Shape Japan’s AI Data Center Investment Shikoku Electric strengthens organization to attract data centers across four prefectures Shikoku Electric Power announced that it will strengthen its organization to attract data centers to the four prefectures of Shikoku. The company has …
