Established under the Subcommittee on Long-term Energy Supply-demand Outlook, which began deliberations on January 30, the working group will estimate costs for generating electricity for each power source, so as to contribute to creating a practical, balanced supply-and-demand structure.
The group is chaired by Kenji Yamaji, director-general of the Research Institute of Innovative Technology for the Earth (RITE).
At the meeting, representatives of the Agency for Natural Resources & Energy (ANRE) explained the circumstances and results of deliberations by the Subcommittee on Nuclear Power and Nuclear Fuel Cycle Technology, which was established under the ministerial-level Energy and Environment Council in 2011 after the giant earthquake in March of that year.
Next, one member of the working group, Yuji Matsuo of the Institute of Energy Economics, Japan (IEEJ), talked about the methods to evaluate generating costs used by the Expert Group on Projected Costs of Generating Electricity, part of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).
He described two methods to project cost. The first one, called the model plant method, estimates appropriate unit costs, fuel costs and more for each power source. Meanwhile, the other method evaluates costs for generating electricity based on the securities reports of the individual electric power utilities.
Matsuo concluded by praising the rationality of the model-plant method, which the subcommittee had used, while pointing out issues to be considered, thus getting a jump on future discussions.
In response to his remarks, other members of the working group cited calls to consider such societal costs as dealing with the risks of accidents and measures for power-system stabilization, in addition to ordinary generating costs, taking into account changes in circumstances since the previous estimates made in 2011.
They also mentioned the need for more practical discussions concerning the model-plant method, which involves a high degree of abstraction.
