Contradiction in Energy Policy

Energy policy in Japan is facing a great contradiction. After the disaster in First Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant three years ago, reducing dependency on nuclear energy has been the top issue for Japan’s future. Renewable energy must be expanded as much as possible. However, power companies reject flowing renewable energy in their supply network, in spite of legislation requires them to accept it. Reluctance of old establishments in energy community is disturbing energy reform in Japan.

The reason of rejecting renewable energy is electricity will be overflow in supply network, if the power company accepts all amount the electricity each producer generates. Major power companies explain that the overflow causes breaking down of supply system, or even major blackouts. “Yeah, it’s ok for us to stop nuclear reactors and introduce unstable solar, geothermal or whatever. But it may cause broad blackout in big cities, which leads to great loss in economic term.” It is the way how power company threatens the people.

Regulative policy of the government caused too much supply of electricity. Government of Japan introduced feed in tariff system in 2012, which forced power companies to buy all electricity produced by registered suppliers of renewable energy; solar, wind, minor hydraulic, geothermal and biomass. Under the cause of increasing share of the renewable, the government loosened the regulation for registration without a principle. Putting aside their efforts fallen short of, bureaucrats attribute their ineffective policy to politics between Democratic Party of Japan and Liberal Democratic Party.

The government, both in terms of bureaucracy and politics, is also responsible not developing greater system for electricity supply network. Capacity of current system is limited for sharing electricity between regional power companies. Amazingly enough, frequency of electricity is different between east and west of Japan, making accommodation difficult.

If the government seriously seeks higher share of renewable energy, it needs to quickly develop infrastructure for the future. But what it is doing now is helping Tokyo Electric Power Company decontaminate land in Fukushima to make people erase the memory of the disaster as soon as possible. Closely connected with traditional interest of major power companies, the government is obviously reluctant to support new business in renewable energy.

Co-president of Japan Restoration Party, Kenji Eda, addressed in his question to Prime Minister, Shinzo Abe, in current session of the House of Representatives, that “Bureaucracy discourages private sectors with regulative governance.” It is obvious that Abe and LDP cannot break that old system.