Kansai Electric Power Co., Japan's second-biggest power utility, is seeking "loose partnerships" with energy companies amid uncertainty over the timing of nuclear restarts and ahead of the deregulation of the retail electricity market.
The Osaka-based utility, which agreed to cooperative partnerships with the London-based BP PLC and the French company Engie this year, is seeking to boost flexibility to respond more quickly to changes in supply and demand, Tatsushi Fujiwara, the general manager of the fossil fuel office, said in a recent interview.
Asia's third-largest energy market, long dominated by 10 regional monopolies, will open its ¥8.1 trillion ($67 billion) retail electricity market in April even as Prime Minister Shinzo Abe pushes for the return of nuclear power after the 2011 Fukushima disaster led to the shutdown of the country's atomic plants. Kyushu Electric Power Co. in August restarted the first of the country's 43 reactors under new safety rules introduced by the Nuclear Regulation Authority. Additional restarts are dependent on NRA and local approval.