In a July 30 interview with the Nikkei, Federation of Electric Power Companies Chairperson Kazuhiro Ikebe (president and CEO of Kyushu Electric) said that “there is uncertainty about the stability of electric power supply” in the government’s initiative to open power lines to power from renewable energy. Ikebe requested the design of a mechanism to enable the control of electric power from renewable energy if an imbalance between electricity supply and demand arises.

Power lines have too little capacity. In some parts of Japan, it has not been possible to transmit power derived from renewable energy. This is one of the issues hindering the spread of renewable energy use amid the trend toward decarbonization. In 2021, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry plans to implement a measure to connect renewable energy power generators to power lines during time slots where power lines have sufficient capacities.