On June 15, JR Kyushu announced that it has commenced switching the electricity provider for 3,800 stations and conductors’ officers from Kyushu Electric Power Co. to several new providers. The move was precipitated by the recent liberalization of the retail power market. JR Kyushu is the first of the nation’s six JR companies to switch power companies. JR Kyushu has inked contracts with three providers: Miyama City (Fukuoka Pref.)-based Miyama Smart Energy, Sasebo City (Nagasaki Pref.)-based HTB Energy (a subsidiary of Huis Ten Bosch) and Kagoshima City-based Nanwa Energy. The new providers will only supply power to small facilities requiring less than 50 kW of power (the same scale as household-use power); the contracts do not cover power for electric trains or Shinkansen stations. JR Kyushu spends over ¥8 billion a year on electricity, but it has not made public how much money the provider switch will save. Source: Sankei News, 6/16
