Dynamism of J-POWER, National Power Company

The purpose of this paper is threefold: (1) to elucidate why the national power company, Electric Power Development Company (J-POWER) began promoting a business model centered on use of large-scale, overseas-coal-fired thermal power stations, turning back the clock on the energy revolution, wherein Japan, preceding the oil crisis, shifted away from coal to imported oil; (2) to explore why J-POWER succeeded in the commercial operation of the Matsushima Thermal Power Station (500 MW×2 Units) in 1981; and (3) to interrogate why J-POWER challenged the research and development of cutting-edge thermal power technologies like flue gas desulfurization, selective catalytic reduction of NOx, and ultra-supercritical steam generation using boiler-turbines.<br> Nine electric power companies (NEPC) were established by the reorganization of the electric power industry in 1951. NEPC had four key characteristics: private management, vertical integration, nine regional divisions, and monopoly. In 1952, however, J-POWER was founded by a government initiative, The Electric Development Promotion Law, to overcome post-war power shortages and to increase the supply of electricity in Japan following World War II. J-POWER is the only large-scale wholesale power company in Japan that has power stations and a nationwide network of transmission lines that connect each domestic region.<br> NEPC actively developed large-scale, oil-fired power stations during Japan’s energy revolution. Before the oil crisis, the autonomy of NEPC worked well, as an economic and stable electricity supply had been realized. Despite this, J-POWER made an effort to promote a business model employing the large-scale import of coal for coal-fired thermal power stations, to turn back the clock on the energy revolution. After the oil crisis, J-POWER demonstrated that the Matsushima Thermal Power Station could indeed generate more economical electricity than an oil-fired power station. As such, J-POWER aggressively developed power stations fueled by overseas coal on a large scale to supply to NEPC in tune with the needs of the time.<br> Several studies about the Japanese power industry were published and mainly focused on NEPC. These studies recognized coal as a natural resource that had taken a beating by other natural energy sources, such as oil and liquefied natural gas. In doing so, however, these studies disregarded J-POWER’s above-mentioned activities and its role in the energy industry.