Japanese Utility Offers Free Power Due To Solar Oversupply

The electric utility serving Japan's southwest Kyushu region has announced that electricity will effectively be free for some households during the afternoons of October and November, thanks to high solar power generation, Hiroshi Hisano reported this for Mainichi Shimbun.

Kyushu Electric Power Co. (Kyuden) is offering these free electricity slots during specific time slots on sunny days to encourage both the expansion and leveling of energy demand. I Photo: Kyocera Europe

To prevent equipment damage due to oversupply, power output at solar plants often needs to be reduced on sunny autumn days in Kyushu.

As a result, Kyushu Electric Power Co. (Kyuden) is offering these free electricity slots during specific time slots on sunny days to encourage both the expansion and leveling of energy demand.

This offer will be available to customers who are enrolled in the company's electricity-only home energy plan and have smart meters installed.

Users are also required to register with the company's energy-saving "Kyuden Eco" app when flash sales are announced the day before. During the specified hours of the sale, users will accumulate points on the PayPay e-payment app corresponding to their energy usage.

Kyushu, known for its abundant sunshine and ideal conditions for solar energy generation, also generates electricity from nuclear power.

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