Japan’s 10 major power utilities Thursday announced plans to lower their electricity rates by over ¥1,000 for a standard household next January, thanks to a resumption of government subsidies to cushion the impact of inflation.
The fee for an average household is set to fall by ¥1,170 to ¥7,464 in the regular service area of Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings.
Chubu Electric Power will see the steepest drop among the power utilities at ¥1,175, while Hokkaido Electric Power will have the smallest drop at ¥1,028.
Government subsidies for household electricity bills are set at ¥4.5 per kilowatt-hour.
Meanwhile, the government will give city gas subsidies of ¥18 per cubic meter.
As a result, Tokyo Gas’ rate for a standard household will fall ¥545 to ¥5,106.
Osaka Gas will see the largest drop at ¥548, and Saibu Gas the smallest at ¥419.
The government has been subsidizing electricity and gas rates intermittently since 2023, automatically reflecting them in consumers’ utility bills as discounts based on their power and city gas usage.
The new round of subsidies covers January-March 2026, when heating demand typically rises. The government expects the measure to curb household utility bills by a total of about ¥7,300.
AloJapan.com