In response to the issue of Chugoku Electric Power, Chubu Electric Power, and Kyushu Electric Power Co., which had formed a cartel with Kansai Electric Power over electricity sales to business operators, an expert panel of the Cabinet Office published a proposal calling for stricter penalties and thorough compliance to prevent recurrence.
Chugoku Electric Power, Chubu Electric Power Co., and Kyushu Electric Power Co. have been ordered by the Japan Fair Trade Commission to pay a total surcharge of more than 1000 billion yen, the highest amount ever, for entering into a cartel with Kansai Electric Power Co., including an agreement not to compete with customers over the sale of electricity to businesses.
The Cabinet Office's Expert Committee, which promotes regulatory reform, released a proposal to prevent recurrence on May 28.
In the report, he pointed out that this issue is "a company-wide and organizational problem in the sense that it was led by senior management, and it is an act that ignores the government's reform of the electricity system."
It then
calls for the Electricity Business Act to stipulate penalties for cartels, the establishment of compliance committees consisting of external experts at major electric power companies
,
and the dissolution of capital ties between the power generation and retail sectors.
On the other hand, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) has responded to a series of scandals such as unauthorized viewing of customer information of cartels and competitors at major electric power companies
▽ Prevent employees of electric power companies from illegally accessing the system
▽ Strengthen
penalties ▽We are considering the creation of a system that allows major electric power companies and new electric power companies to compete fairly, and will finalize the results by autumn.