Johnan Shinkin Bank said Friday it has terminated electricity contracts with Tokyo Electric Power Co. for its headquarters and most of its branch offices and will start buying power from a nonnuclear energy provider from January.
The Tokyo-based bank's shift to Ennet Corp., which sells electricity generated by gas and renewable energy, is in line with its earlier pledge to cut energy consumption and help reduce dependence on atomic energy in light of the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant crisis.
Ennet will serve 77 of Johnan's 85 offices, which use about 9 million kw per year. The remaining eight offices will continue to buy electricity from Tepco partly because they share their buildings with other tenants. The new arrangement will help reduce its annual power cost, currently ¥200 million, by ¥10 million, the bank said.
Johnan Shinkin ended the contracts with Tepco at the end of November and Tepco's supply will stop at the end of this month.
"We hope to help foster the development of communities where people can live in safety without relying on nuclear power," Johnan President Tsuyoshi Yoshiwara said at a press conference.