Tokyo Gas, KEPCO Form LNG Partnership

Tokyo Gas on Monday said it will partner Kansai Electric Power (KEPCO) to jointly procure LNG.

The partnership will provide flexibility to ably respond to changes in supply and demand and market conditions and help make stable procurement of LNG at competitive prices, the two firms said.

The decision comes as Japanese retail electricity market became fully deregulated with effect April 1. The household gas market will also head towards complete deregulation in 2017.  

The two entities will also share technology for gas fired power plants.

For Tokyo Gas, this is the second LNG partnership in recent times. Last year, it forged a 50:50 alliance with Chubu Electric to form an entity called JERA.