Tokyo Electric Power Company facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings, Incorporated

Headquarters in Chiyoda, Tokyo
Native name	東京電力ホールディングス株式会社
Romanized name	Tōkyō Denryoku Hōrudingusu kabushiki gaisha
Formerly	Tokyo Electric Power Company, Incorporated (1951-2016)
Type	Public KK
Traded as	TYO: 9501
Industry	Electric utility
Predecessor	The Tokyo Electric Light Company, Inc. (founded in 1883)
Founded	May 1, 1951; 74 years ago (1951-05-01)
Headquarters	Uchisaiwaichō, Chiyoda, Tokyo , Japan
Area served	Tokyo, Kanagawa, Saitama, Chiba, Tochigi, Gunma, Ibaraki, Yamanashi, and east Shizuoka
Key people	Yoshimitsu Kobayashi (Chairman) Tomoaki Kobayakawa (President)
Services	Electric generation, transmission, and distribution
Revenue	¥6,802.5 billion (2015)
Operating income	¥316.5 billion (2015)
Net income	¥451.6 billion (2015)
Total assets	¥14,212.7 billion (2015)
Total equity	¥2,073 billion (2015)
Owner	Government of Japan, through the Nuclear Damage Compensation and Decommissioning Facilitation Corporation (54.74%) TMTBJ investment trusts (6.28%) CBJ investment trusts (1.77%) ESOP (1.50%) Tokyo Metropolitan Government (1.20%) SMBC (1.01%)
Number of employees	37,939 (2022)
Subsidiaries	TEPCO Power Grid TEPCO Fuel & Power TEPCO Energy Partner Tokyo Electric Generation Company

Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings, Incorporated (Japanese: 東京電力ホールディングス株式会社, Tōkyōdenryoku Hōrudingusu Kabushikigaisha, TEPCO, also known as Tōden (東電) in Japan) is a large Japanese company. It provides electricity to a big part of Japan. This includes the Kantō region, Yamanashi Prefecture, and eastern Shizuoka Prefecture. The famous city of Tokyo is also in this area.

TEPCO's main office is in Chiyoda, Tokyo. They also have offices in other countries like Washington, D.C. and London. TEPCO is part of groups that work on new energy ideas and research.

In 2007, TEPCO had to close its Kashiwazaki-Kariwa Nuclear Power Plant. This happened after a big earthquake. That year, the company lost money for the first time in 28 years. They kept losing money until the plant reopened in 2009.

After a huge earthquake and tsunami in 2011, one of TEPCO's power plants had a very serious nuclear accident. This was the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster. Because of this accident, about 50,000 families had to leave their homes. This was due to radioactive materials getting into the air, soil, and sea.

In 2012, the Japanese government gave TEPCO a lot of money. This was to make sure Tokyo and nearby areas still had electricity. It also helped the company clean up the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant. The government became the main owner of TEPCO. This helped them manage the cleanup and pay for the damages. The total cost of the disaster was very high.

How TEPCO Started and Grew

TEPCO logo, used from 1987 to 2016

Japan's electricity companies became private businesses in 1951. This happened after World War II. TEPCO was one of nine new private companies. Each company was given a specific area to provide electricity. TEPCO was formed by combining two older companies.

In the 1950s, TEPCO worked hard to rebuild Japan's power system. The country was recovering from the war. Later, Japan's economy grew very fast. TEPCO had to build more power plants. They also made their electricity network better.

In the 1960s and 1970s, TEPCO faced new problems. There was more environmental pollution and oil prices went up. TEPCO started using natural gas for power plants. They also began to rely more on nuclear power. The first nuclear unit at the Fukushima Dai-ichi plant started working in 1971.

During the 1980s and 1990s, more people used air conditioners and computers. This meant that electricity use was very different between day and night. To manage this, TEPCO built special hydroelectric power plants. These plants could store energy. They also encouraged people to use things that stored heat.

Today, TEPCO is important for Japan to reach its goals. These goals are about reducing carbon dioxide. The company also faces challenges as electricity rules change. They are also seeing slower growth in electricity demand. TEPCO has a campaign called 'Switch!'. It promotes homes that use only electricity. This helps them use their power plants more efficiently.

Main Companies Under TEPCO

Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings, Inc. is a "holding company." This means it owns several other big companies.

• TEPCO Power Grid is in charge of the electrical grid in the Kantō region. It moves electricity from big suppliers to smaller sellers.
• TEPCO Energy Partner sells electricity to homes and businesses. It operates under the "TEPCO" name across Japan, except Okinawa.
• TEPCO Fuel & Power runs power stations that use fossil fuels. These mainly supply TEPCO Energy Partner.
• Tokyo Electric Generation Company creates electricity to sell to the general electricity market.
• Tokyo Electric Power Services Co. Ltd (TEPSCO) offers advice for the electric power industry.

About TEPCO's Business

TEPCO is the largest electric company in Japan. It is also one of the biggest in the world. Because it is so large, TEPCO has a big impact on Japan's economy. It also affects the environment and the energy industry.

The company has many customers. In 2005, they had over 27 million customers. Their highest electricity use ever was 64.3 million kilowatts on July 24, 2001.

How TEPCO Makes Electricity

TEPCO uses two main ways to make power. Power plants that use fossil fuels are around Tokyo Bay. They are used when a lot of electricity is needed. Nuclear reactors in Fukushima and Niigata Prefecture provide a steady supply of power.

Hydroelectric plants are in the mountains. Even though they are smaller, they are important. They help provide power during times of high demand. TEPCO also buys electricity from other power companies.

How Electricity Gets to You

TEPCO has a special network of lines and stations. This network moves electricity from power plants to cities and factories. High-voltage lines carry electricity over long distances. In Tokyo, these lines are often underground.

From large substations, electricity travels through smaller lines. For big buildings, these lines connect directly. For homes and small shops, the electricity goes to transformers first. These transformers are often on utility poles. They change the electricity to a safe voltage for homes.

TEPCO's electricity network is known for being very reliable. Blackouts are rare and usually fixed quickly. However, after the 2011 earthquake, TEPCO had to do rolling blackouts. This was because the Fukushima plants had shut down. For example, on March 15, 2011, 700,000 homes lost power for three hours.

TEPCO Offices Around Japan and the World

TEPCO has many offices to serve its customers.

TEPCO Power Plants

Nuclear Power Plants

In 2008, TEPCO announced delays for new nuclear reactors. This was to make sure they could handle earthquakes better. However, after the 2011 nuclear crisis, these plans were cancelled.

Fossil Fuel Power Plants

These plants use fuels like oil, coal, and natural gas to make electricity.

Hydroelectric Power Plants

TEPCO has 160 hydroelectric stations. These use the power of water to make electricity. The largest ones are:

• Nagawado Dam (623 MW)
• Shin-Takasegawa Pumped Storage Station (1,280 MW)
• Tamahara Pumped Storage Power Station (1,200 MW)
• Shiobara Pumped Storage Plant (900 MW)
• Imaichi Pumped Storage Plant (1,050 MW)
• Kazunogawa Pumped Storage Power Station (800 MW)
• Kannagawa Hydropower Plant (2,820 MW)

Electric Vehicle Charging

TEPCO is helping to create new standards for car batteries. They are also working on fast charging for electric vehicles. They helped create the CHΛdeMO group. This group promotes a special fast-charging system. Car companies like Mitsubishi, Nissan, and Subaru are part of this group.

TEPCO and Nuclear Projects Abroad

In 2012, TEPCO announced it would stop helping with nuclear projects in other countries. This was because they needed to focus on the damaged reactors in Fukushima. They cancelled their part in a project to build reactors in Vietnam. TEPCO said their engineers needed to work on stabilizing and cleaning up the Fukushima plant. They could not work on projects abroad at the same time.

Important Facts About TEPCO

• Total shares: 1,352,876,531
• Number of shareholders: 821,841
• Electricity sold (2004): 286,741 million kWh (total)
• Highest demand for power: 64.3 million kW (July 24, 2001)
• Number of customers (as of March 31, 2005): 27,740,000
• Money from electricity sales: ¥4,637.2 billion yen (2004)

Helping People After the Disaster

TEPCO had to pay a lot of money to help communities near its Fukushima nuclear plant after the accident. The Japanese government decided to help manage TEPCO so it could make these payments. The government set aside money that TEPCO could use if it needed more funds to pay people affected by radiation from the Fukushima I plant.

Changes at TEPCO

Workers at TEPCO agreed to have their pay cut. This was a way to show responsibility for the major nuclear accident. The pay for board members was cut by 50 percent, managers by 25 percent, and other workers by 20 percent. The company expected to save about 54 billion yen (about $659 million) each year from these pay cuts.

In July 2012, it was announced that managers' yearly salaries would be cut by at least 30%. Other workers' pay cuts stayed at 20%. On average, employees' pay was cut by 23.68%. Also, the amount the company paid for employee health insurance was lowered from 60% to 50%, which is the usual amount in Japan.

See also

In Spanish: Tokyo Electric Power Company para niños

• CHAdeMO, an electric vehicle charging standard
• Nuclear power in Japan
• International Nuclear Energy Development of Japan Co., Ltd (JINED)
• Innovation Network Corporation of Japan (INCJ)
• Radiation effects from Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster
• Subaru R1e
• Fukushima 50, a name for workers who stayed at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster site