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Supported by Megumi Yasu! "Electricity & Gas Liberalization Begins!" PR Event
On March 23, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry's Electricity and Gas Trading Supervisory Commission held a "Power and Gas Liberalization Starts!" PR event at the Ikebukuro Sunshine Fountain Plaza in Toshima Ward, Tokyo. Ahead of the full liberalization of city gas retail starting April 1, they invited celebrity Megumi Yasu, the "Power and Gas Liberalization Support Captain," as a guest to strongly promote the benefits of power and gas liberalization to consumers.
Opening the event, Chairman Tatsuo Hatta of the Committee addressed the audience on behalf of the organizers. "With the full liberalization of electricity retail that began last year, 380 companies have entered the market, competing to offer diverse pricing plans and services. Now, with the liberalization of gas retail, households will be able to choose from a variety of plans and services offered by different providers, including combined electricity and gas packages," he stated.
Next, Committee Member Emiko Minowa, who is also a certified public accountant, and Megumi Yasu took the stage for a talk session. Both are raising children and managing household finances as homemakers, and they discussed the appeal and questions surrounding electricity and gas liberalization from their perspectives.
Commissioner Minowa emphasized the importance of selecting providers and plans tailored to individual lifestyles. "Like my own household, many families now have dual incomes," she explained. "This often means electricity usage peaks at night, making plans with discounted nighttime rates a viable option."
Responding to this, Ms. Yasu shared her own lifestyle changes: "After giving birth, I started going to bed early and waking up early, and I run the washing machine multiple times a day." She welcomed the ability for consumers' preferences to be reflected in their electricity and gas usage.
When Ms. Yasu asked, "Isn't the process complicated?" and "Doesn't it require construction work?", Committee Member Minowa replied, "No construction is needed, and you only need to contact the new provider you're switching to. The change process often takes less than 30 minutes. The key is to use the provider's website for rate simulations or refer to comparison sites." He emphasized that much of consumers' anxiety about the full liberalization of electricity and gas retail is unfounded.
Next, three popular homemaker bloggers from "Kuchikomi Thank You!"—a service operated by the homemaker lifestyle magazine "Thank You!" (Benesse Corporation)—joined the session and shared their personal experiences switching electricity providers.
Ai Usui switched to au Denki's bundle discount because she was already an au mobile user. She cited several deciding factors: a percentage of her monthly electricity bill is cashback to her au WALLET, and consolidating her mobile and electricity payments onto one credit card makes it easier to accumulate points.
Minami Narabe, who has partial solar power installed at home, researched switching electricity providers and found most companies would actually increase her costs. She switched to Looop Denki, the only provider that lowered her costs. She highlighted its attractive features: a clear pricing structure with no base fee (pay only for what you use), and the fact that over a quarter of its power source mix comes from renewable energy.
Zumy, who lives with a family of six in a 6LDK detached house, switched to Tokyo Gas's gas and electricity bundle discount. This reduced their monthly bill by around ¥3,000, and during summer and winter peak periods, it dropped by as much as ¥7,000 per month.
These bloggers, each with different lifestyles, selected their power companies and plans based on their specific priorities, and in every case, their bills dropped significantly.
Committee member Minowa commented, "Everyone has done their research well. The full liberalization of electricity and gas markets provides an opportunity for each household to review the details of their utility costs." Finally, Ms. Yasu concluded, "Hearing from these three gave me a lot of concrete ideas. I'm not good at managing things, so I want a plan that's easy to manage. I'll discuss it with my husband, Higashi MAX, when I get home."
Following the talk event, presentations were given by providers including EREX (EREX Spark Marketing), SoftBank Denki (SB Power), Machi Energy (MC Retail Energy), Tokyo Gas Denki (Tokyo Gas), and Nichigas (Nippon Gas), each highlighting the features and benefits of their services.
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