■Company Overview
1. Company Overview
Keiyo Gas (9539) manufactures, supplies, and sells city gas using the fertile northwestern part of Chiba prefecture, where population density is high and the population tends to increase, as the main supply area. In addition to the main city gas, it also sells electricity to city gas customers, and also handles real estate leasing, gas internal pipe construction/gas equipment sales, gas meter reading, and information processing services. Services such as house cleaning and full gas equipment support are also provided as lifestyle support. Amid drastic changes in the environment surrounding the energy industry, such as the liberalization of electricity and gas and soaring resource prices, etc., the “Long-Term Management Vision 2030” and the “Mid-Term Management Plan 2022 - 2024” were formulated, and the “next “happy!” which is the desired state of 2030 It aims to “surpass customer expectations by providing it.”
Expanding business with city gas supply as the axis
2. HISTORY
The company was established as “Katsushika Gas Co., Ltd.,” the predecessor of the company by Mr. Tomoichiro Tanaka in 1927 for the purpose of supplying city gas, and management was taken over by Mr. Hiromi Kikuchi, who can be said to be the founder of Chukou, in 1955 after World War II. After that, for 2000, they strengthened gas supply capacity and promoted natural gas conversion, enhanced service systems and security systems, and diversification of supply sources. After 2000, the business expanded, such as starting sales of the household cogeneration system “EcoWill,” the household fuel cell cogeneration system “ENE-FARM,” and solar power generation systems, etc., and sales of electricity began in 2016 as a retail electricity operator, and after complete liberalization of gas retail (accounting separation of conduit business/retail business) in 2017, they also expanded into other areas as gas sellers. Currently, a medium-term management plan is being carried out with a focus on carbon neutrality and DX.
City gas operators unevenly distributed in urban areas
3. What is city gas
The city gas business is a business that mainly supplies gas to general households, factories, commercial facilities, etc. using conduits laid in urban areas. Since conduit networks require considerable investment and operation costs, it is necessary to utilize economies of scale, so they have developed mainly in efficient urban areas. Also, since most of the natural gas, which is the main raw material, is imported from overseas as liquefied natural gas (LNG), a gas conduit network was developed in a fan shape starting from LNG receiving bases in port areas near demand areas. Therefore, Japan's gas conduit network is not connected nationwide, and approximately 200 (16 in Chiba prefecture) city gas operators (general gas conduit operators) are ubiquitous, mainly in urban areas all over the country, and the total distribution area is only about 6% of the land area. This is in contrast to electricity, where businesses with transmission lines and distribution lines (general power transmission and distribution operators) are said to have been consolidated into 10 companies to prioritize securing stable power during post-war reconstruction.
In recent years, the use of electricity as a heat source has increased as all-electrification is popular, but there are concerns about the risk of power outages due to natural disasters such as major earthquakes, etc., and gas is also being reviewed. Also, since gas retail to large customers such as factories was liberalized in 1995, the scope of liberalization was gradually expanded, and following electricity in 2016, gas retail for all customers, including small (household use), was liberalized in 2017/4. Due to this complete liberalization of gas retail, gas retailers, including new entrants, will be responsible for safety work related to investigating gas equipment and disseminating information to prevent the occurrence of hazards among a wide range of security tasks that have been carried out by existing city gas operators.
(Written by FISCO Visiting Analyst Miyata Hitomitsu)