Reflections on the 10th Anniversary of Full Electricity Retail Liberalization: Looking Ahead to the Next Decade – Challenging for Both Decarbonization and Resilience through Social Implementation of Renewable Energy and Storage Batteries

As we reach the 10th anniversary of the full liberalization of electricity retail, I would like to offer a few words from my position as the newly appointed President.

Tokyu Power Supply, which launched its 'Tokyu Denki' service simultaneously with the full liberalization of electricity retail on April 1, 2016, celebrates its 10th anniversary today. On this milestone, I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude to our customers, business partners, local communities, and all stakeholders for their support.

Over the past decade, the environment surrounding energy has changed significantly. In addition to the progress of liberalization, the global trend toward realizing a decarbonized society has accelerated. Recently, international uncertainties, including the situation in Iran, have had a major impact on fuel prices and the stable supply of energy. In such an era, I recognize that energy providers are required not only to supply electricity but also to play a role in building sustainable and resilient systems that support society and daily life.

Under our corporate slogan, 'New life experiences, together with energy,' we have developed services close to our customers' lives, centered on the Tokyu Line, as an energy service provider of the Tokyu Group. In addition to providing electricity and gas for households, we have accumulated initiatives to create new value in daily life and communities, starting from energy, such as expanding the use of renewable energy, supporting corporate customers' introduction of renewable energy through corporate PPAs, and implementing measures to encourage peak shifting and behavioral changes in electricity demand.

Looking toward the next decade, we will focus further on building mechanisms to effectively utilize renewable energy. To realize the Tokyu Group's 2050 carbon neutrality goal, it is important not only to 'introduce' renewable energy but also to 'store' and 'optimally use' it to maximize its value.

At the core of this are large-scale grid-use storage batteries and distributed residential storage batteries. While renewable energy is essential for decarbonization, its power generation depends on weather conditions. We will actively work on the social implementation of a collective management system for charging and discharging residential storage batteries and their group control, in addition to stabilizing power supply and demand through the use of grid-use storage batteries, to achieve both the expansion of renewable energy and the improvement of urban resilience.

We expect these to serve as important social infrastructure for using energy more smartly and efficiently in normal times, while also providing peace of mind during emergencies.

Our 10th anniversary is a milestone to look back on our journey and a starting point for new challenges. We will continue to work with various stakeholders to solve social issues and create new value, challenging ourselves to realize a future where decarbonization and a comfortable, safe life coexist.

We look forward to your continued support.

Tokyu Power Supply Co., Ltd. President and Representative Director Kazuhide Miyo