First in Nagasaki Prefecture! Support for Renewable Energy Electricity Procurement at Hirado City Public Facilities

Enerbank Co., Ltd. (Representative Director: Shogo Sato, Headquarters: Chuo-ku, Tokyo, hereinafter: Enerbank) supported Hirado City, Nagasaki Prefecture (Mayor of Hirado: Yuji Matsuo) in selecting a retail electricity provider (procurement) for switching the electricity used in its public facilities to 100% renewable energy. Hirado City will utilize "Ene-Oku," Enerbank's electricity reverse auction service, to switch one public facility's electricity to 100% renewable energy from April 2026 onwards. This is the first initiative of its kind for public facility electricity procurement using "Ene-Oku" in Nagasaki Prefecture.

Enerbank and Hirado City will continue to strengthen their collaboration to reduce electricity procurement costs and promote decarbonization through renewable energy introduction using "Ene-Oku."

What is Ene-Oku? It is the only free service in Japan that supports the optimization of electricity charges for consumers by adopting a reverse auction method* for selecting electricity contract switching destinations.

Retail electricity providers participating in the bidding can re-bid multiple times while observing other companies' prices, which encourages price reductions.

Ene-Oku is free to use, including the creation of specifications and proposed estimated prices. It allows for the addition of renewable energy conditions, enabling the simultaneous realization of DX and GX.

(What is a reverse auction method: Also known as a "descending bid method," it is a procurement method where a buyer selects a seller through an auction format. Within a specified period, participants can check other companies' prices in real-time and submit conditions multiple times.)

Support provided to Hirado City <Support details> (1) Creation and organization of specifications (draft) and usage data related to renewable energy electricity procurement (free of charge) (2) Implementation of reverse auction (free of charge)

Results of electricity procurement support 1. Auction results

2. Greenhouse gas reduction amount due to renewable energy introduction Approximately 22 t-CO2 (calculated based on Kyushu Electric Power's standard menu emission factor of 0.000472 t-CO2/kWh)

Unlike conventional bidding, which generally follows a one-bid-per-company rule, utilizing a reverse auction allowed retail electricity providers to bid multiple times, resulting in more affordable renewable energy contract plans.

Comment from the department in charge [Hirado City Hall, Citizen Life Department, Citizen Affairs Division] Hirado City declared itself a "Zero Carbon City Hirado" in 2020. In 2024, it compiled policies to be implemented by FY2030 as "Key Projects," with citizens, businesses, and the administration working together to achieve a net-zero greenhouse gas emission by FY2050, thereby promoting concrete actions for realizing "Zero Carbon City Hirado."

This time, as a model case, a reverse auction with renewable energy conditions was conducted for one public facility. As a result, six bids were received from five companies, achieving not only decarbonization but also cost reduction.

When utilizing "Ene-Oku" this time, we first implemented it as a model case for facilities under the jurisdiction of the Citizen Affairs Division. Since it was our first time using the service, Enerbank Co., Ltd. provided specific and easy-to-understand support on how to proceed, which was extremely helpful.

In particular, there were tasks such as calculating estimated prices, creating specifications, and reviewing the contents of electricity supply and demand contracts, which we had not been involved in with previous electricity retail providers. We were able to proceed with the work together.

Towards the FY2050 target, we plan to consider utilizing the same service for other public facilities in the future to reduce greenhouse gas emissions through the introduction of renewable energy-derived electricity and suppress electricity costs.

Future Development While renewable energy electricity tends to be more expensive than conventional electricity, by utilizing "Ene-Oku," a power reverse auction where businesses can re-bid while observing other companies' bid prices, businesses can procure renewable energy electricity at an appropriate price.

As electricity market prices soar and electricity rate structures become complex, increasing the difficulty of electricity procurement operations, Enerbank's digital solutions will support efficient electricity procurement.

We will continue to strengthen collaboration with local governments nationwide and support initiatives aimed at realizing zero-carbon cities by utilizing "Ene-Oku" and "Green Ticket."

◎Zero Carbon City Realization Support Service Site for Local Governments https://www.enerbank.co.jp/zero-carbon-city

For inquiries regarding this matter, please contact the following: ・Local Government Officials: https://form.run/@RE-guide1 ・Retail Electricity Providers: https://form.run/@RE-guide2 ・Private Businesses Considering Renewable Energy Introduction: https://form.run/@RE-guide3

【Company Profile】 Company Name: Enerbank Co., Ltd. Representative Director: Kenichi Muranaka / Co-founder, Head of Private Business Representative Director: Shogo Sato / Co-founder, Head of Public Sector Business Director CTO: Daisuke Sekine / Co-founder Location: Tansei Building 2F, 2-1-17 Nihonbashi, Chuo-ku, Tokyo 103-0027 Established: July 2018 Phone: 03-6868-8463 Business Activities: ・Development and operation of electricity auction systems ・Operation of environmental value trading platforms - Green Power Certificate Issuance Business - FIT Non-Fossil Certificate Agency Purchase Business - J-Credit Sales Business ・Operation of solar power generation equipment introduction matching ・Development and operation of digital concierge services for energy procurement and decarbonization URL: https://www.enerbank.co.jp/