Kyushu and Chugoku to cooperate with Japan probe

Following a report that they were being investigated for anti-competitive behaviour, Kyushu Electric Power Co and Chugoku Electric Power Co claim that the Japan Fair Trade Commission has not issued a notice of antitrust fines.

In separate statements, the two companies also said that they would cooperate with the commission and would announce further information swiftly, if necessary.

The commission declined to comment on a report last Friday in the Nikkei newspaper that it had decided to fine three major utility firms 10s of billions of yen in total for breaching antitrust laws.

The regulator would penalise Kyushu Electric, Chugoku Electric and Chubu Electric Power Co for agreeing not to expand into each other’s industrial power supply markets, the Nikkei said.

A spokesperson for Chubu Electric said the company was aware of the report but declined to comment further.

Like other Japanese electricity generators, the three companies are already suffering from rising input costs amid high global energy prices, exacerbated by the weakness of the yen.