Recently, I feel that the monthly electricity bill of my house is getting higher.
I think there are many people who think so.
In fact, the electricity prices for May of the 10 major power companies are the highest in the last five years that can be compared.
Within the jurisdiction of TEPCO, which has many users, it has been on an upward trend since last fall.
I investigated the changes in electricity prices and the reasons for the price increases, which have a great impact on our lives.
May electricity prices to the highest level in the last 5 years
According to major power companies, electricity prices for May have risen for all 10 companies, the highest level in the last five years that can be compared.
This is mainly due to the rise in import prices of fuel LNG = liquefied natural gas and coal due to the tightening situation in Ukraine, and the electricity prices of the 10 companies are at the highest level in the past five years when they can be compared.
Of these, TEPCO has the largest increase in price compared to April, and the electricity bill for households with average usage has increased by 146 yen to 8505 yen.
Next, Chubu Electric Power increased by 138 yen to 8214 yen.
Tohoku Electric Power has increased by 105 yen to 8536 yen.
Depending on the contract, there is an upper limit for electricity charges that can be passed on to the increase in fuel prices so that the burden on users does not become too large. Five companies have reached this limit.
On the other hand, the levy added to the monthly electricity bill will be revised to the unit price for the new fiscal year from May for the spread of renewable energy, so the charges of the five companies that have reached the upper limit will also be raised by 24 yen each. ..
Electricity prices are expected to remain high as crude oil prices are on the rise.
Gas charges also rise
The gas price for May will also increase at all four major companies due to the rise in the price of LNG and liquefied natural gas.
The company-wide price increase has been for 9 consecutive months.
Looking at households with average usage, the price increase
is 93 yen higher for Toho Gas, 6952 yen
, 92 yen higher for Osaka Gas, 6502 yen
, and 90 yen higher for Tokyo Gas, 5784 yen.
Western gas has increased by 68 yen to 6524 yen
.
Electricity charges Looking at the changes over the past year ...
Within the TEPCO jurisdiction, which has the largest number of users, the electricity bill for May last year for households with average usage was 6822 yen.
However, since the fall of last year, the upward trend has continued.
▽ Last September was 7098 yen,
▽ Last October was 7238 yen.
The main reason for this is that global demand for crude oil and natural gas has increased due to the economic recovery from the corona disaster, and prices have soared.
Furthermore, fuel prices continued to rise due to a series of explosions and fires at oil facilities in the Middle East and the tightening situation
in
Ukraine
.
The situation of renewing the highest price in the past 5 years, which can be compared
with 8505 yen, continues.
The impact of "all-electric" home-based work that hurt my head
Rising electricity prices are putting pressure on households.
Keiko Gomi (65), who lives in Atsugi City, Kanagawa Prefecture, is a family of four, her husband and her two sons.
She has an "all-electric" contract with TEPCO, and she uses electricity to cook everything, including IH heaters, heaters and water heaters.
She manages her daily spending with her household account book app on her smartphone, but she's hurt her head this winter with her high electricity bills.
The electricity bill for March is over 13,000 yen.
Payments have increased by more than 6000 yen compared to the same period last year.
The increase in charges and the increase in family work at home are also factors.
As a countermeasure, it is said that they are conscious of saving electricity on a daily basis by suppressing the set temperature of heating or keeping warm with a kotatsu as much as possible, but they have not been able to suppress the increase in charges.
Mr. Gomi said, "I have kept a household account book for many years, but I am surprised that it has risen so much. Since electricity and gasoline are always used, there are limits to how I can devise them, but I will be careful about how to use them. I will. "
Ramen shop Payment of electricity and gas charges 1.4 times last September
The rise in electricity prices is also affecting the management of ramen shops.
A ramen shop in the student district of Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo.
In addition to lighting inside the store, electricity is used in machines that cook char siu at low temperatures, refrigerators, and ticket vending machines.
We also use gas for the noodle boiler, but the gas charge is also rising.
During business hours, the gas is left on to keep the temperature constant so that the noodles can be boiled immediately.
Last month's electricity and gas bills combined with two nearby sister stores are 1.4 times higher than last September, when sales were about the same.
Furthermore, the purchase price of noodles and fats, which are indispensable for ramen, continues to rise.
Of these, "pork fat" was about 40% higher than before the new Corona, so the store raised the price of abura soba, the main menu, by 20 yen last month (February).
Hitoshi Kitahara, the manager of the ramen shop, said, "Even if the price is raised, there is no choice but to use electricity. Since it is a student town, we want to offer it as cheaply as possible, but we cannot lower the quality, so we raised the price with a bitter decision." I was talking.
Increased demand for commercial breakers that can reduce electricity costs
Under these circumstances, there is an increasing demand for commercial breakers developed by manufacturers in Obanazawa City, Yamagata Prefecture, which can keep electricity costs low.
Obanazawa City's manufacturer, Eiko, has developed a commercial breaker that can reduce electricity costs.
According to the manufacturer, this breaker is programmed to incorporate an automated control system to the limit of the kilowatt tolerance contracted with the power company.
This means that you can contract with a lower kilowatt rate than a conventional breaker, and you can reduce your electricity bill.
Manufacturers are developing a business to lease this breaker to companies, and as electricity prices continue to be high, inquiries from companies that want to keep costs down as much as possible are increasing.
As of the 29th, the number of contracted units is more than 2000, which is 1.8 times that of the same period last year.
President Ken Kusakari said, "In small and medium-sized enterprises, which account for the majority of our business partners, rising electricity bills have a great impact on management. I hope this breaker will be useful."