TEPCO will receive 1,450MWe of electricity in total from five coal-fired power stations owned by the four companies. That amount is equivalent to the output of one nuclear power plant.
The power company’s financial base has been weakened as a result of the accident at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plants, so it is now seeking to procure thermal power efficiently from external sources.
Of the four companies selected, TonenGeneral Sekiyu will partner with the Kanden Energy Solution Co., Inc. to construct a coal-fired power station (about 1,000 MWe total) in Chiba Prefecture east of Tokyo and sell some of the output to TEPCO. Kanden Energy Solution is a subsidiary of the Kansai Electric Power Co., Inc., also known as Kansai EP.
Meanwhile, Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal Corporation will supply electricity generated at a coal-fired thermal power plant in Ibaraki Prefecture north of Tokyo that it operates alone, as well as from a plant to be constructed jointly with J-Power in the same prefecture.
The fourth company selected, Hitachinaka Generation, will construct a coal-fired power plant in Ibaraki Prefecture and sell some of the electricity to TEPCO.
The power company had closed the bidding from suppliers in March after receiving ten tenders for output totaling 4,530MWe. Five of the bidders exceeded the upper price limit that was set, and were thereby excluded.
TEPCO will separately invite tenders for gas-fired power, as sharp fluctuations in liquefied natural gas (LNG) prices have made earnings difficult to forecast. It will announce the times of implementation and the scale of bidding by the end of the year.
