Electric Power Development Co. announced Wednesday it will cancel a plan to construct a power plant in Niigata Prefecture.
The move from the quasigovernmental power generator comes at a time when nationwide electricity demand is slowing down.
The company hopes to reinforce its financial health by curtailing fresh investment ahead of its planned listing as early as 2003, sources said.
EPDC had earlier planned to start construction of the hydroelectric power station in 2003 in an area spreading across Yunotani and Irihirose in Niigata Prefecture, with its operation slated to begin in 2011. The Yunotani Power Station was to have maximum power production capacity of 1.8 million kilowatts per hour.
The cancellation follows the firm's announcement in March that it will freeze its joint project with Hokuriku Electric Power Co. to build another hydroelectric power plant in an area bordering Fukui and Gifu prefectures.