Publication date: Oct 5, 2026 Key Takeaways Japan’s GX-ETS is moving toward full implementation, with mandatory participation for large emitters beginning in FY2026 and a dedicated emissions allowance trading market planned for fall 2027. Power generators are expected to become subject to mandatory participation from Phase 3 in FY2033. For the power sector, the key …
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Publication date: Oct 2, 2026 Japan’s Household Electricity Bills to Hit Record Highs in October as Subsidies End Japan’s ten major utilities say household electricity bills for power consumed in October will reach record highs. Under their government-approved regulated tariffs, bills for a standard model household will increase by JPY 835–1,578 for payments due in …
Publication date: Sept 18, 2026 OCCTO Proposes New Supplementary Auction to Retain Aging Thermal Power Plants At an expert meeting, the Organization for Cross-regional Coordination of Transmission Operators (OCCTO) proposed introducing a new ‘supplementary auction’ in the capacity market to procure additional capacity one to three years before delivery, alongside the existing main auction (T-4) …
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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 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 6, 2026 TEPCO Restructuring to Include SoftBank and Global Funds as Potential Partners According to Nikkei, Tokyo Electricity Power Company (TEPCO) Holdings is advancing negotiations on an equity partnership centered on five potential partners. In addition to Japan-based SoftBank and Japan Industrial Partners (JIP), a domestic investment fund, three foreign fund groups …
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Publication date: April 21, 2026 METI to Limit Grid Connection Study Applications by Region to Manage Surge in BESS The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI)’s expert committee has recently decided to introduce a cap on the number of grid connection study applications per operator for grid-scale battery energy storage systems (BESS). The cap …
Publication date: April 7, 2026 JEPX System Upgrades: Shift to API-Based Trading Reshapes Market Access JEPX will begin rolling out its upgraded trading system from April 2026, with a phased transition across spot and intraday markets extending through FY2026. The key change lies in the migration from browser-based trading to API (Application Programming Interface) -driven …
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