Chubu Electric Power Company,Incorporated

The Chubu Economic Federation has decided to appoint Yasuhide Tsuge, an advisor at JR Central, as the successor to Chairman Tetsu Katsuno, it was learned on the 1st. It will be the first time someone from JR Central has taken the federation's chairmanship, and Katsuno will resign. The appointment is to be formally decided at an extraordinary board meeting on the 5th. Tsuge, who served as president and then chairman of JR Central, promoted the construction of the Linear Chuo Shinkansen and focused on urban development in the Chubu region. He has served as a vice chairman of the federation since 2014 and is well versed in the affairs of the Chubu economy. Katsuno resigned as chairman of Chubu Electric Power on September 30 over a data falsification scandal at the company's Hamaoka nuclear plant. He had indicated he would also step down as chairman of the federation.

Chubu Electric President Shingo Hayashi, at a regular press conference on the 30th, again apologized for a series of scandals including the falsification of data on earthquake assumptions for the Hamaoka nuclear plant, and resigned effective the 30th to take responsibility. Regarding the restart of Hamaoka units 3 and 4, while stressing the importance of the nuclear business, he noted that "we are not at the stage of discussing a restart," and went no further than saying that "pursuing safety and restoring trust is the first step." As for the new management structure launching on October 1, he said, "I want them to work with all their might to restore trust and connect that to sustainable growth going forward."

Chubu Electric Miraiz, the retail subsidiary of Chubu Electric Power, announced on the 29th that it will refund customers for electricity fees it overcharged for more than two years by deducting the excess from their electricity bills. Refunds will be issued sequentially starting with December bills, and the company reported the background of the issue and measures to prevent recurrence to the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry the same day. About 5 million accounts are eligible for refunds, covering customers who held specific contracts at some point between April 2024 and October 2026. The overcharge amounts to 10 yen per month for a household with standard electricity usage, and the total refund is expected to be at least around 1.2 billion yen. The company also plans to refund customers who no longer have contracts, and is considering how to do so.

Chubu Electric Power announced on the 25th that it has withdrawn its application for the safety review needed to restart Units 3 and 4 at the Hamaoka Nuclear Power Plant. The move follows a data falsification issue concerning earthquake assumptions for the Hamaoka plant in Shizuoka Prefecture.

Kansai Electric Power announced on the 17th that it had miscalculated the costs underlying its electricity rates and had been overcharging customers in regulated sectors, including ordinary households, since April 2024. The impact is estimated at about 14 million yen, or at most 1 yen per month per contract. On the electricity rate front, Chubu Electric Power also announced overcharging on the 10th of this month, with the impact estimated at at least around 1.2 billion yen. Kansai Electric said it apologizes for causing concern and is considering how to refund the money.

At a post-cabinet press conference on the 15th, Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry Akazawa Ryosei said that it would be "inappropriate to discuss the matter lightly" regarding Chubu Electric Power's indication that it may in the future once again file for a restart of the Hamaoka nuclear plant in Omaezaki, Shizuoka Prefecture, which the company had decided to withdraw, expressing the view that such discussion is premature. He stressed that thorough measures to prevent a recurrence of the data falsification problem and ensuring safety are preconditions.

Chubu Electric Power Chairman Satoshi Katsuno indicated on the 14th that he also intends to resign as chairman of the Chubu Economic Federation, known as Chukeiren. At a press conference the same day concerning data falsification at the Hamaoka nuclear plant, Katsuno said he would also step down as Chukeiren chairman, and plans to formally convey his intention to resign to the federation. Chubu Electric announced the same day that Katsuno will resign as chairman effective the 30th. Katsuno took the Chukeiren chairmanship in June 2025, and his reappointment was decided this June, making his current term his second.

At a press conference on the 14th, Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara commented on Chubu Electric Power's withdrawal of its application for the safety review needed to restart Units 3 and 4 at the Hamaoka Nuclear Power Plant in Shizuoka Prefecture, following a data falsification scandal involving earthquake assumptions. Kihara said, "Sincere responses are required, including a thorough confirmation of the facts, investigation of the causes, and prevention of recurrence." The Nuclear Regulation Authority and the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry also stressed that they will "deal with the matter strictly." In the wake of the series of irregularities, Chubu Electric Power has indicated that its president and chairman will resign to take responsibility, and the company has now withdrawn its application for the restart review.

Chubu Electric Power on the morning of the 14th published a report by an investigation committee composed of outside lawyers regarding the data falsification issue concerning seismic assumptions for the Hamaoka Nuclear Power Plant. In an unprecedented case of misconduct that fundamentally undermines the plant's safety, there are suspicions that multiple internal departments, while communicating with one another, underestimated the standard seismic ground motion, the assumed earthquake shaking, and the focus is now on the involvement and motives of senior management. In the Nuclear Regulation Authority's review, which is a precondition for restarting Hamaoka Units 3 and 4, Chubu Electric selected data for formulating the standard seismic ground motion using methods different from its explanations, choosing convenient data while pretending it had used a valid method. The company's Nuclear Civil Engineering Department and Nuclear Power Department were involved in the misconduct. It has also emerged that after the Nuclear Regulation Authority's secretariat, the Nuclear Regulation Authority Secretariat, learned of the problem through an external tip-off and began meetings with Chubu Electric in May of last year, the company engaged in acts suspected of covering up the misconduct, such as overwriting the conveniently selected data.

Chubu Electric Power announced on the 11th that it has received a report from an investigation committee made up of outside lawyers regarding a data falsification issue concerning earthquake assumptions for the restart of Units 3 and 4 at the Hamaoka nuclear plant. The company will hold a press conference on the 14th to disclose the details. It said the impact on its business performance is undetermined. Regarding its future response, including a possible withdrawal of the review for restart, the company said, "There is no fact that any decision has been made at this point. If we decide on any facts that should be disclosed, we will inform you promptly."

Chubu Electric announced on the 10th that its electricity retail subsidiary Chubu Electric Miraiz had been overcharging customers for more than two years. The cause was an error in calculating the costs that form the basis of rates, and the number of overcharged customers reached at least about 5.009 million, equivalent to roughly 57 percent of its total contracts. Half were ordinary households, and the total amount overcharged was about 1.2 billion yen, amounting to a maximum of 152 yen per month per contract, and the company will issue refunds going forward. Due to a change in the wire usage fees paid to the transmission and distribution company in April 2024, the amount by which power generation costs would increase should have been calculated as 47.4 billion yen over three years, but was mistakenly calculated as 50.1 billion yen. Chubu Electric explained, "We did not reach the recognition that this was a serious error. It was not done intentionally."

On the 28th, the 10 major electric power companies announced their electricity rates for September usage. Due to soaring energy prices caused by turmoil in the Middle East and reduced government subsidies, all companies raised rates from the previous month. The increases range from 252 yen to 509 yen, and the four major city gas companies also raised rates by 237 yen to 307 yen. The September electricity subsidy was reduced to 3.50 yen per kilowatt-hour, and Tokyo Electric Power's standard household rate rose to 8,275 yen, up 432 yen from the previous month. Chubu Electric Power saw the largest increase, while Kyushu Electric Power saw the smallest. The gas subsidy was reduced to 14 yen per cubic meter, with Tokyo Gas and Osaka Gas posting the largest increases and Saibu Gas the smallest.

In response to Chubu Electric Power's improper billing for the decommissioning costs of the Hamaoka nuclear power plant, the mayor of the host municipality Omaezaki, Masaru Shimomura, told Chubu Electric executives on the 27th, 'I want you to ensure transparency. I want you to eradicate the culture of papering over cracks.' Tetsuya Toyoda, head of Chubu Electric's nuclear power division, and others visited to explain at a special committee on nuclear power measures at an extraordinary city council meeting, apologizing, 'We are sorry for causing repeated improper incidents.' The company said it would provide further explanations by September 25, the deadline for reporting to the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry.

Chubu Electric Power announced on the 27th that it had improperly billed construction costs to the Japan Nuclear Fuel Limited and Decommissioning Organization, which oversees the decommissioning progress of Units 1 and 2 at the Hamaoka Nuclear Power Plant in Shizuoka Prefecture. The company is conducting an investigation and is expected to disclose the detailed amount and circumstances in the future. This issue raises questions about the transparency of decommissioning work and the appropriateness of cost management.

A report by the investigation committee looking into data falsification at Chubu Electric Power's Hamaoka nuclear plant is expected to be released within this month. The report's focus is on how deeply successive management teams were involved in the misconduct, and it also points to failures in corporate governance. Depending on its contents, President Lin Xingu and Chairman Katsuno Tetsu could face questions over their management responsibility. In the Nuclear Regulation Authority's review aimed at restarting Hamaoka Units 3 and 4, the company came under suspicion of deliberately selecting and underestimating data related to the standard seismic ground motion. It set up the investigation committee in January to examine when the misconduct began and what motivated it. The falsification is believed to have been carried out from around 2012, and some are calling for Chairman Katsuno, who served as president from 2015 to 2020, to be held accountable. Despite multiple internal whistleblower reports from 2018 onward, the misconduct did not stop. Even after the Nuclear Regulation Authority began its investigation in May 2025, work believed to be aimed at concealing the misconduct, including overwriting data, was discovered. Whether senior management was involved is also a key focus of the investigation.

Chubu Electric Power announced on the 4th that its systems were subjected to unauthorized access, potentially leading to the leak of personal information of approximately 74,000 individuals, including those from group subsidiaries, business outsourcing partners, local governments, and business partners. The cause was the unauthorized use of identification information to access the systems, which may have allowed the viewing of employee emails and contact details of group staff. The incident came to light on July 29 following a report from a third-party organization, and no leak of electricity or gas customer information has been confirmed. The attack was not ransomware, and no system failures or impact on power supply occurred. The company is cooperating with Aichi Prefectural Police and others in an ongoing investigation.

Chubu Electric Power announced on the 29th that consolidated net profit for the fiscal year ending March 2027 is expected to fall 29.8% year-on-year to 160 billion yen. The company had not disclosed a full-year forecast at the start of the period due to factors such as the Middle East situation, but has now provided one for the first time. While earnings at JERA's domestic thermal and gas power generation business are improving, power procurement costs are rising at the retail sales unit Miraiz, and equipment expenses are also expected to increase due to inflation.

Regarding the data falsification issue concerning earthquake assumptions at the Hamaoka Nuclear Power Plant, Chubu Electric Power's Nuclear Division Director Tetsuya Toyoda and others attended the Special Committee on Nuclear Countermeasures on the 9th and apologized, saying they deeply regret the data overwriting and other matters.