By Sho Matsushita

Yomiuri Shimbun Staff Writer

The Tokyo metropolitan government has submitted a shareholder proposal to Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings Inc. (TEPCO) to add to its articles of incorporation a new section on ensuring stable electricity supply while curbing price surges.

The proposal, dated April 27, was written with an eye toward TEPCO's general shareholders meeting scheduled for June. The Tokyo metropolitan government held a 1.2% stake in the company as of the end of March.

In a rationale attached to the proposal, the metropolitan government emphasizes that "as tensions in the Middle East continue, soaring prices for many forms of energy and concomitant impacts on supply chains are becoming apparent." It further calls on the company to minimize the impact of the situation on electricity rates by reducing price volatility risks through measures such as diversifying its sources of liquefied natural gas (LNG). The proposal also calls for costs to be reduced through the use of digital transformation $(DX)$.

Furthermore, to prevent customers from suffering heatstroke during the height of summer, the proposal calls for the company to provide users with detailed information during the hottest months -- when the supply and demand balance for energy becomes strained -- that balances energy conservation and power-saving appeals with information on how to beat the heat, such as the appropriate use of air conditioning. It also proposes that this be explicitly stated in the articles of incorporation.

To help stabilize electricity supply and demand, the proposal states that it is "necessary to proceed to the greatest extent possible" with the expansion of renewable energy sources such as solar, offshore wind, and geothermal power. It also emphasizes the need to support urban disaster prevention efforts by further accelerating the removal of overhead power lines.

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This article is from The Yomiuri Shimbun. Neither Dow Jones Newswires, MarketWatch, Barron's nor The Wall Street Journal were involved in the creation of this content.

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May 07, 2026 02:01 ET (06:01 GMT)

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