Electricity business

Japanese: 電気事業 - でんきじぎょう

The business of producing (generation), transporting (transmission), and distributing (distribution) electricity to consumers. It is a business responsible for supplying electricity, which is essential for both people's lives and industrial activity, and is a typical public utility.

The biggest characteristic of electricity as a commodity is that it cannot be stored. Although it is possible to store electricity to some extent by using storage batteries and dam-type hydroelectric power plants, the scale of these is extremely limited within the overall electricity business. Therefore, in the electricity business, system operation that instantly adjusts supply and demand and prevents blackouts is extremely important.

[Tachibanakawa Takeo]

history

Power plants that supplied electricity to the general public rather than for private use began operating almost simultaneously in London and New York in 1882. This marked the beginning of the electric power industry in a global sense.

The first electric power company in Japan, Tokyo Electric Light Company (the predecessor to Tokyo Electric Power Company), was established the following year in 1883 (Meiji 16). The subsequent history of Japan's electric power industry can be broadly divided into the following three periods, focusing on changes in the industrial structure.

[1] The period (1883 to March 1939) when a large number of privately owned and operated electric power companies dominated the electric power industry, coexisting in part with public electric utilities owned and operated by local governments.

[2] The period of state control of electricity (April 1939 to April 1951), when the privately owned, state-run Japan Electric Power Generation and Transmission Company and nine electricity distribution companies had monopoly over the generation and transmission of electricity and the distribution of electricity, respectively.

[3] The period from May 1951 onwards when the nine-electric power system was in place was dominated by nine privately owned and operated electric power companies with integrated management of power generation, transmission and distribution and regional monopolies, with some coexisting public electric utilities owned and operated by local governments, the Electric Power Development Co., Ltd., a special corporation, and the Japan Atomic Power Company, Ltd., a public-private joint venture.

Of these, period (1) can be further divided into three periods depending on whether or not there was market competition between electric power companies, as follows:

(1) A period (1883-1906) in which electric lighting companies, mainly relying on small-scale thermal power generation, operated in each city and there was little competition.

(2) The period from 1907 to 1931 when regional electric power companies, which relied mainly on hydroelectric power generation and medium- to long-distance transmission, engaged in fierce market competition (the "Power Wars").

(3) The period from 1932 to March 1939 when the "power war" came to an end with the establishment of the Electric Power Federation, a cartel organization, and the enforcement of the revised Electricity Business Act, which established the principle of monopoly over supply areas.

In the period of (3), the presence or absence of market competition and the strength of performance competition also played a role.
(1) The period from May 1951 to 1973 when regional monopolies by nine private electric power companies were established and market competition did not exist, but performance competition developed.
(2) A period in which regional monopolies continued to be established, market competition did not exist, and performance competition also declined (1974-1994).
(3) With the start of electricity deregulation, market competition began to partially take hold in the wholesale and retail electricity sectors (after 1995).
It is divided into three periods:

A major characteristic of the history of Japan's electric power industry, as outlined above, is that, with the exception of the period under state control [2], it has basically been privately run. The electric power industry is an industry with a strong public interest, but in Japan's case, unlike many European countries that chose the path of nationalization or public run, the industry has chosen to privatize it. In other words, a policy that emphasizes private vitality was adopted, in which privately owned and privately run electric power companies make combined efforts to achieve the public interest goal of "providing a stable supply of cheap electricity." In assessing the history of Japan's electric power industry, an important criterion is whether or not the choice of a "privately run public utility" was appropriate.

[Tachibanakawa Takeo]

The pros and cons of the nine-power (ten-power) system

The reorganization of the electric power industry implemented in May 1951 put an end to the exceptional system of state control of electricity, which was not a "private public utility." As a result of the reorganization, nine private electric power companies were born in Hokkaido, Tohoku, Tokyo, Chubu, Hokuriku, Kansai, Chugoku, Shikoku, and Kyushu, and a nine-electric power system was established. With the privatization of Okinawa Electric Power in October 1988, this nine-electric power system was transformed into a ten-electric power system, which continues to this day. The nine-electric power system can be characterized by four points: (1) private management, (2) integrated management of power generation, transmission, and distribution, (3) nine divisions by region, and (4) monopoly.

The nine electric power companies that were created through the reorganization of the electric power industry achieved a "low-cost and stable supply of electricity" during the period of high economic growth in Japan from the late 1950s to the early 1970s. This period can be described as a noteworthy "golden age" in the entire history of the Japanese electric power industry, when private electric power companies exerted their vitality through their hard work and achieved the public interest mission of "low-cost and stable supply of electricity."

The reasons why the "private public utility" model that characterized Japan's electric power industry was able to achieve great results during the period of high economic growth can be attributed to the following two points.

First, unlike later periods, there was tension between the public and private sectors. During this period, the government, which was plotting to revive state control of electricity, and the private electric power companies, which were aiming to establish a system of nine private electric power companies, were locked in a fierce battle over whether to go public or private. The reason for the serious conflict over the form of management that led to a 14-year gap between 1950, when the prewar Electricity Business Act was abolished, and 1964, when the postwar Electricity Business Act was enacted, was the establishment of a new law. The government established the special corporation Electric Power Development Co., Ltd., and had the Sakuma Dam built, demonstrating the superiority of government management. In response, Kansai Electric Power, one of the nine electric power companies, independently built Kurobe Dam and Kurobegawa No. 4 Power Station, demonstrating that large-scale dam development was also possible for the private sector. The conflict between the two sides ultimately ended with the victory of the private approach, which promoted a predominantly thermal power generation mix with secondary water and a predominantly oil-based, secondary coal-fired power generation mix from an economic standpoint, and the new Electricity Business Act enacted in 1964 legally recognized the nine private electric power companies.

The second reason for the arrival of the "golden age" of the "private public utility" system was that the nine electric power companies actively engaged in rationalization competition, despite the guarantee of market monopoly. From the late 1950s to the early 1970s, unlike the previous and subsequent periods, electricity tariff revisions were not implemented simultaneously by the nine companies, but were implemented separately by each company. Therefore, the nine electric power companies competed with each other to rationalize their management so that they could avoid raising tariffs for as long as possible compared to the other companies. As a result, the capacity of power sources increased, the thermal efficiency of thermal power plants improved, thermal power plants switched to a primary and secondary use of oil, hydroelectric power plants were automated, and the transmission and distribution loss rate decreased, and "low-cost and stable electricity supply" was realized. During this period, the nine electric power companies, despite the guarantee of market monopoly, displayed a great deal of private vitality and were not "like a bureaucratic office."

The oil crisis of 1973 brought an end not only to Japan's high economic growth but also to the "golden age" of the nine-electric power system. The two elements that had supported the "golden age" - the tension between the government and the nine electric power companies, and the rationalization competition among the electric power companies - both disappeared.

The two factors behind the narrowing of the gap between the government and the nine electric power companies were the worsening difficulty in locating power facilities and the increasing emphasis on nuclear power development.

In the 1970s, industrial pollution became a major social issue, which led to a serious problem of finding sites for power-related facilities. The nine electric power companies were unable to overcome this problem on their own. They tried to alleviate the problem by increasing their reliance on the government, and the enactment of the Three Power Source Laws in 1974 was a symbolic event.

The nuclear energy policy also played a major role in narrowing the distance between the government and the nine electric power companies. The nine electric power companies, which made "stable electricity supply" their top priority, were spurred by a sense of crisis over the interruption of oil imports during the oil crisis, and so they put all their efforts into nuclear energy development (in 1973, oil-fired power accounted for 73% of Japan's power source mix). This was a situation that could be called the "trauma of the oil crisis," but the nuclear energy development promoted by the nine electric power companies did not proceed smoothly. This was because by this time deep-rooted anxiety about the safety of nuclear power generation had spread among the public. The nine electric power companies, which had to proceed with nuclear energy development without sufficient national consensus, needed strong backing from the government. In this context, the nuclear energy policy was significant in narrowing the distance between the government and the nine electric power companies.

In response to the sudden rise in crude oil prices following the oil crisis, the nine electric power companies significantly raised electricity rates three times between 1974 and 1980. After 1974, the nine electric power companies (10 electric power companies after the privatization of Okinawa Electric Power Company) began to act almost in unison when revising electricity rates. Cartel-like tendencies became stronger in the electric power industry, and the mechanism of "rationalization competition to avoid price hikes" that was in effect before the oil crisis disappeared.

The trauma of the oil crisis led to a widespread emphasis on stable electricity supply, while electricity prices rose and low-cost electricity became a thing of the past. Electric power companies became like bureaucrats, and private sector vitality declined. The situation was such that the liberalization of the electricity market, which began in the mid-1990s, was inevitable.

[Tachibanakawa Takeo]

Review of electricity policy

The liberalization of the electricity market that began in 1995 was successful in lowering electricity prices to a certain extent, but did not achieve much in terms of introducing the principle of competition into the electricity market. This situation changed dramatically with the Great East Japan Earthquake that occurred on March 11, 2011, and the subsequent accident at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant operated by Tokyo Electric Power Company.

After the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear accident, the view that the background to the accident was the conservative corporate structure of the 10 electric power companies, which were resting on their laurels with their virtual market monopoly, quickly spread among the public. Of the four features that characterize the 10 electric power companies' system - (1) privatization, (2) integrated management of generation, transmission, and distribution, (3) division into nine regions, and (4) monopoly - it was decided to abolish the monopoly of (4), and as a means to achieve this, measures being considered include reorganizing the integrated management of generation, transmission, and distribution in (2) and separating generation and transmission, and reorganizing the division into nine regions in (3) and implementing full retail liberalization.

[Tachibanakawa Takeo]

"History of Modern Japanese Industrial Development III: Electric Power" edited by Kurihara Toyo (1964, Kojunsha)" ▽ "Memories of the Reorganization of the Electric Power Industry" by Matsunaga Yasuzaemon (1976, Denryoku Shimposha)" ▽ "The Dynamism of the Development of Japan's Electric Power Industry" by Tachibanakawa Takeo (2004, Nagoya University Press)" ▽ "History of Trade and Industry Policy 1980-2000, Volume 10: Resources and Energy Policy" by Tachibanakawa Takeo (2011, Research Institute of Economy, Trade and Industry)" ▽ "Electricity Reform - A Historical Shift in Energy Policy" by Tachibanakawa Takeo (Kodansha Gendai Shinsho)" ▽ "Energy White Paper" edited by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, various years' editions (Energy Forum)" ▽ "Electric Utility Industry Handbook" edited by the Statistics Committee of the Federation of Electric Power Companies, various years' editions (Japan Electric Association)"

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

Japanese:

電気を生産し（発電）、搬送し（送電）、需要家に配分する（配電）事業。国民生活にも産業活動にもなくてはならない電気の供給に責任を有する事業であり、典型的な公益事業の一つである。

　商品としての電気の最大の特徴は、貯めることができない点にある。蓄電池やダム式水力発電所を使えば、電気を貯めることはある程度可能であるが、それらの規模は、電気事業全体のなかではきわめて限られている。したがって電気事業では、需要と供給を瞬時に調整し停電を防止する系統運用が、きわめて重要な意味をもつ。

［橘川武郎］

歴史

電気を自家用にではなく一般向けに供給する発電所は、1882年にロンドンとニューヨークで、ほぼ同時に運転を開始した。これが、世界的な意味での電気事業の創始である。

　日本では、その翌年の1883年（明治16）に、最初の電力会社である東京電燈(でんとう)（東京電力の前身）が設立された。その後の日本電力業の歴史は、産業体制の変化に注目すると、次の三つの時代に大きく区分することができる。

〔1〕民有民営の多数の電力会社が主たる存在であり、それに、地方公共団体が所有・経営する公営電気事業が部分的に併存した時代（1883年～1939年3月）。

〔2〕民有国営の日本発送電と9配電会社が、それぞれ発送電事業と配電事業を独占的に担当した電力国家管理の時代（1939年4月～1951年4月）。

〔3〕民有民営・発送配電一貫経営・地域独占の9電力会社が主たる存在であり、それに、地方公共団体が所有・経営する公営電気事業や特殊法人である電源開発（株）、官民共同出資の日本原子力発電（株）などが部分的に併存する9電力体制の時代（1951年5月以降）。

　このうち〔1〕の時代は、電力会社間の市場競争の有無によって、以下のように、さらに三つの時期に細分化される。

(1)おもに小規模な火力発電に依拠する電灯会社が都市ごとに事業展開し、競争がほとんど発生しなかった時期（1883年～1906年）。

(2)おもに水力発電と中長距離送電に依拠する地域的な電力会社が激しい市場競争（「電力戦」）を展開した時期（1907年～1931年）。

(3)カルテル組織である電力連盟の成立と供給区域独占原則を掲げた改正電気事業法の施行により、「電力戦」がほぼ終焉(しゅうえん)した時期（1932年～1939年3月）。

　また、〔3〕の時代も、市場競争の有無やパフォーマンス競争の強弱によって、
(1)民営9電力会社による地域独占が確立しており市場競争は存在しないが、パフォーマンス競争が展開された時期（1951年5月～1973年）、
(2)引き続き地域独占が確立しており市場競争が存在せず、パフォーマンス競争も後退した時期（1974年～1994年）、
(3)電力自由化の開始により、電力の卸売部門と小売部門で市場競争が部分的に展開されるようになった時期（1995年以降）、
の三つの時期に細分化される。

　以上のように概観することができる日本電力業の歴史の大きな特質は、国家管理下におかれた〔2〕の時代を例外として、基本的には民営形態によってきた点に求めることができる。電力業は公益性の高い産業であるが、日本の場合には、国営化や公営化の途を選んだ多くのヨーロッパ諸国と異なり、民営方式を選択した。つまり、民有民営の電力会社が企業努力を重ねて、「安い電気を安定的に供給する」という公益的課題を達成する、民間活力重視型の方針を採用したわけである。日本電力業の歴史に評価を下すには、この「民営公益事業」という選択が適切であったか否かが、重要な判断基準になる。

［橘川武郎］

9電力（10電力）体制の光と影

「民営公益事業」ではない例外的な仕組みであった電力国家管理に終止符を打ったのは、1951年（昭和26）5月に実施された電気事業再編成であった。再編成の結果、北海道・東北・東京・中部・北陸・関西・中国・四国・九州の民間9電力会社が誕生し、9電力体制が成立した。9電力体制は、1988年10月の沖縄電力民営化により10電力体制に姿を変え、今日も続いている。9電力体制の特徴は、(1)民営、(2)発送配電一貫経営、(3)地域別9分割、(4)独占、の4点に求めることができる。

　電気事業再編成によって誕生した9電力各社は、1950年代後半から1970年代初頭にかけての日本経済の高度成長期に、「低廉で安定的な電気供給」を実現した。この時期は、民間電力会社が企業努力を重ね活力を発揮して、「低廉で安定的な電気供給」という公益的課題を達成した、日本電力業の歴史全体のなかでも特筆すべき「黄金時代」だったと言うことができる。

　高度成長期に、日本電力業の特徴である「民営公益事業」方式が、大きな成果をあげることができた理由は、次の2点に求めることができる。

　第一は、のちの時代と異なり、官と民のあいだに緊張関係が存在したことである。この時期には、電力国家管理の復活をもくろむ政府と、民営9電力体制の定着をめざす民間電力会社とが、官営か民営かをめぐって、つばぜり合いを繰り広げた。戦前の電気事業法が廃止された1950年から戦後の電気事業法が制定される1964年までのあいだに14年間の空白期間が生じたのは、経営形態をめぐる対立が深刻だったからである。政府は、特殊法人の電源開発（株）を設立し、佐久間ダムを建設させて、官営の優位を誇示した。これに対して、9電力会社の一角を占める関西電力は、単独で黒部ダムと黒部川第四発電所を建設し、民間でも大規模ダム開発が可能であることを示した。両者の対立は、結局、経済性の観点から電源構成の火主水従化と火力発電用燃料の油主炭従化を推進した民営方式の勝利という形で終結し、1964年に制定された新電気事業法によって、民営9電力体制が法認された。

　「民営公益事業」方式の「黄金時代」が到来した第二の理由は、市場独占が保証されていたにもかかわらず、9電力各社が活発に合理化競争を展開したことである。1950年代後半から1970年代初頭にかけての時期には、前後の時期とは異なり、電気料金の改定は、9社いっせいに実施されず、各社ばらばらに行われた。そのため、9電力各社は、他社よりも少しでも長く料金値上げを実施しないですむよう、競い合って経営合理化に取り組んだ。その結果、電源の大容量化、火力発電の熱効率向上、火力発電燃料の油主炭従化、水力発電所の無人化、送配電損失率の低下などが急速に進み、「低廉で安定的な電気供給」が実現した。この時期の9電力会社は、市場独占を保証されていたにもかかわらず、民間活力を大いに発揮し、「お役所のような存在」ではなかったのである。

　1973年に発生した石油ショックは、日本経済の高度成長だけでなく、9電力体制の「黄金時代」をも終焉させた。政府・9電力会社間の緊張関係、電力会社間の合理化競争、という「黄金時代」を支えた二つの要素が、いずれも消滅したからである。

　政府・9電力会社間の距離が狭まった背景には、電力施設立地難の深刻化と原子力開発の重点化という二つの事情が存在した。

　1970年代に入ると産業公害が大きな社会問題となり、その影響を受けて電力関連施設をめぐる立地難が深刻化した。この立地難を、9電力会社は独力で克服することはできなかった。電力各社は行政への依存を強めることによって立地難を緩和しようとしたのであり、1974年の電源三法の施行は、それを象徴する出来事であった。

　原子力政策も、政府・9電力会社間の距離を狭めるうえで大きな意味をもった。「安定的な電気供給」を至上命題として掲げた9電力会社は、石油ショック時の石油輸入途絶への危機感をきっかけにして、原子力開発に全力をあげた（1973年には日本の電源構成に占める石油火力の比率は73％に達していた）。それは、「石油ショックのトラウマ」とでもよぶべき状況であったが、9電力会社が推進した原子力開発は、スムーズに進行したわけではなかった。このころには原子力発電の安全性に対する不安感が、国民のあいだに根強く広がっていたからである。十分な国民的コンセンサスが得られぬ状況下で原子力開発を進めることになった9電力会社は、政府による強力なバックアップを必要とした。このような脈絡で、原子力政策は、政府と9電力会社とのあいだの距離を狭める意味合いをもったのである。

　石油ショックに伴う原油価格の急騰を受けて、9電力会社は、1974年から1980年にかけて、電気料金を三度にわたり大幅に値上げした。1974年以降、9電力（沖縄電力民営化以降は10電力）は、電気料金を改定する際に、横並びでほぼいっせいに行動するようになった。電力業界では、カルテル的傾向が強まり、石油ショック前に作用していた「値上げ回避のための合理化競争」のメカニズムは消滅した。

　「石油ショックのトラウマ」により安定供給至上主義が浸透する一方で、電気料金は上昇し、「低廉な電気供給」は過去のものになった。電力会社は、「お役所のような存在」になり、民間活力は後退した。1990年代半ばから始まる電力自由化を必然化するような状況が形成されていったのである。

［橘川武郎］

電力政策の見直し

1995年（平成7）に始まった電力自由化は、ある程度電気料金を低下させることには成功したが、電力市場に競争原理を持ち込むことについては大きな成果をあげなかった。そのような状況を大きく変化させたのが、2011年（平成23）3月11日に発生した東日本大震災と、それに伴う東京電力・福島第一原子力発電所事故である。

　福島第一原発事故後、事故の背景には事実上の市場独占にあぐらをかく10電力会社の企業体質の保守性が存在するという見方が、急速に国民のあいだに広がった。10電力体制を特徴づける(1)民営、(2)発送配電一貫経営、(3)地域別9分割、(4)独占、の4点のうち、(4)の独占を廃止することが決まり、そのための手段として、(2)の発送配電一貫経営を改めて発送電分離を行うこと、(3)の地域別9分割を改めて小売全面自由化を実施すること、などが検討されている。

［橘川武郎］

『栗原東洋編『現代日本産業発達史Ⅲ　電力』（1964・交詢社）』▽『松永安左エ門著『電力再編成の憶い出』（1976・電力新報社）』▽『橘川武郎著『日本電力業発展のダイナミズム』（2004・名古屋大学出版会）』▽『橘川武郎著『通商産業政策史1980－2000第10巻　資源エネルギー政策』（2011・経済産業調査会）』▽『橘川武郎著『電力改革――エネルギー政策の歴史的大転換』（講談社現代新書）』▽『経済産業省編『エネルギー白書』各年版（エネルギーフォーラム）』▽『電気事業連合会統計委員会編『電気事業便覧』各年版（日本電気協会）』