All 10 major electric power companies will raise prices starting with the July 2024 billing (June usage fees). Eight of the 10 electric power companies are expected to reach record-high prices, and households will have to pay about 400 yen more.
The reason for the price hike is that the government's subsidy for electricity will end in June as a countermeasure against price hikes.
The following is an average of the electric power companies' bills from June.
Hokkaido Electric Power, 9,523 yen (+409 yen MoM)
Tohoku Electric Power, 8,855 yen (+419 yen MoM)
Tokyo Electric Power (TEPCO), 8,930 yen (+392 yen MoM)
Chubu Electric Power, 8,691 yen (+346 yen MoM)
Shikoku Electric Power, 8,595 yen (+460 yen MoM)
Kyushu Electric Power, 7,751 yen (+450 yen MoM)
Okinawa Electric Power, 9,663 yen (+616 yen MoM)
The annual burden nationwide ranges from 4,704 yen (TEPCO) to 7,392 yen (Okinawa Electric Power Co.). In addition to the impact of the price increase itself, households will be burdened by the price pass-through due to higher electricity prices, which may curb personal consumption in the future.
In addition, companies will also be affected, as investment and labor costs will be curtailed and procurement costs will increase, which will likely lower profit margins. In particular, the manufacturing industry, which is a key industry in Japan, uses a lot of electricity, so cost pressures due to price hikes are unavoidable.
If consumer spending, which accounts for about 60% of GDP, does not expand, there are concerns that the road to economic growth recovery will be a long one.
For more information on Japan's manufacturing industry, please click on the link below to read "Japan's Winning Manufacturing Industry".
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