1. Sustainability Report
   • Introduction
   • Reaching for Sustainability
     • The Energy Situation and Stable Energy Supply
     • Best Mix of Power Sources
   • TEPCO's Corporate Governance
   • The TEPCO Group's Environmental Initiatives
   • The TEPCO Group and the Community
   • TEPCO and Nuclear Power Generation

Low and stable electricity rates

TEPCO is doing its best to maintain low electricity rates even in the face of large fluctuations in the prices of crude oil and fossil energies.

Large fluctuations in prices of fossil energy resources

The prices of fossil energy resources are showing volatile trend in recent years, soaring in conjunction with worldwide increases in energy consumption and falling sharply in the wake of global economic downturn.

Maintaining electricity rate levels

We are striving to maintain low and stable electricity rate levels by promoting the best mix of power sources and improving operational efficiency.

Initiatives for nonstop delivery of quality electricity

TEPCO averts power outages and ensures quick recovery in the unlikely event of one by multiplexing power supply facilities and interconnecting power transmission and distribution lines. Additionally, power plants, load dispatching stations, and other major power controlling facilities are closely monitored around the clock, to always be ready to respond to accidents and malfunctions of power facilities.

Meeting the highest global standards in supply reliability

As a provision in the case of an accident such as a lightning strike on a power transmission line, TEPCO has installed a system that promptly and securely determines and isolates the affected segment and prevents the fault or impact from the accident from affecting other systems.

TEPCO's power grid is also equipped with a system that prevents electricity from flowing to transformers or power transmission lines if it exceeds the capacity of the facilities, and a system that can cope with large-scale system accidents that involve two important power transmission line circuits.

Should a distribution line accident cause a power outage, an automated distribution system promptly transmits electricity to areas surrounding the affected segment, without requiring personnel to personally go to the site. This system allows field workers to commence restoration work immediately in response to an accident, as well as significantly shortens the length of time a power outage might last. Moreover, since remote monitoring and control is possible, the system also promotes efficiency in daily load switching operations.

Through these measures, TEPCO minimizes power outage frequency to 0.05 times per year and power outage duration to 2 minutes, and maintains an extremely high level of power supply reliability compared to other countries.