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Chubu Electric Fiscal Q1 Retail Power Sales Fall 9% as Regional Demand Softens

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Japanese utility company Chubu Electric Power reported weak demand and operating metrics during its fiscal Q1 results on Wednesday, with retail electricity sales falling and regional power demand softening due to a host of different factors.

Electricity sales at its retail unit Miraiz declined 9.1% year over year to 22.6 terawatt-hours during the three months ended June 30. Similarly, low-voltage sales slipped 4.8% to 5.8 TWh, while high and extra-high-voltage sales fell 10.5% to 16.8 TWh.

The company attributed the decline primarily to competitive pressures, which accounted for roughly 2.1 TWh of lost sales, along with a smaller impact from weather and market conditions.

Electricity demand across Japan's Chubu Region also softened during the quarter by 1.1% from the prior year to 27.5 TWh.

The sole bright spot for the company was its wholesale business, where sales to other suppliers surged 35.8% compared to the prior year, at 5.9 TWh.

The company's generation business produced an output of 3.0 TWh of hydroelectric power, down 0.1 TWh from a year earlier as river flow conditions weakened, while renewables remained unchanged at 0.1 TWh.

Looking ahead, Chubu Electric forecasts electricity sales of 98.7 TWh, down 9.4%, from 109.0 TWh during the same period last year.

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