Electricity in Japan: TEPCO and New-Power Retailers
Electricity setup in Japan is the first utility most new tenants arrange, and it decides who bills you rather than who keeps the lights on.1 The physical grid stays the same whoever you pay, so the move-in task is choosing a retailer and registering the address correctly.
Procedures, fees, and requirements can change. Confirm current details at the Agency for Natural Resources and Energy site and your regional retailer's official pages.
Overview
Japan deregulated retail electricity on April 1, 2016, so households and small shops can choose freely among registered retailers and price menus.1 Before that date, each region bought only from its monopoly power company. Customers who took no action at the change kept supply from their existing regional company in the same way as before.1
The default grid carrier still depends on the address. The 東京電力 (Toukyou Denryoku) — "Tokyo Electric Power Company, TEPCO" serves Kanto, while the 関西電力 (Kansai Denryoku) — "Kansai Electric Power Company, KEPCO" serves Kansai, with Chubu Denryoku and other incumbents covering the rest.23 Confirm which company serves the new address before applying, since phone numbers, office hours, and online forms differ by provider.
Who this covers
This guide covers all new tenants starting electricity at a new address, regardless of status of residence. Contracts are tied to the property address rather than the person, so a move across the street still means closing the old contract and opening a new one.45
Retail choice sits on top of that address rule. A new tenant either starts with the regional incumbent as the default retailer or picks a registered new-power entrant. The 新電力 (shin denryoku) — "new-power retailer, electricity retailer registered after retail liberalization" competes on plan shape and bundled value, not on physical reliability.1
The Market Structure Since 2016
Full liberalization capped a staged process. Extra-high voltage opened from March 2000, high voltage from April 2004 and April 2005, and low voltage homes and shops from April 2016.1 The 低圧 (teiatsu) — "low voltage, the household and small-shop customer class liberalized in 2016" is the class almost every new tenant belongs to.1
The separation that matters for a newcomer is retailer versus grid. The contracted retailer handles billing and price plans. The general transmission and distribution utility for the area maintains the wires, and outage contact goes there rather than to the billing retailer.2
The diagram above captures the structural shape: one grid, many billing choices. TEPCO Energy Partner handles retail in Kanto while TEPCO Power Grid handles the network there, which is why their contact points are listed separately.2
Regional incumbents by area
Each address has one incumbent that acts as the default carrier on the grid. Kanto uses TEPCO, Kansai uses Kansai Denryoku, Chubu uses Chubu Denryoku, and the same pattern continues region by region under the METI regional map.1
TEPCO Energy Partner lists separate English-capable phone channels for non-regulated and regulated rate plans, open Monday to Saturday 9:00 to 17:00 excluding Sundays, holidays, and year-end holidays (as of 2026-09-06; confirm current figures with TEPCO Energy Partner).2 Phone guidance starts in Japanese and connects to a third-party call in English, Chinese, Korean, Portuguese, or Spanish.2
New-power retailers and ecosystem bundles
The open market drew entrants from outside the old regional monopolies, including oil-linked retailers such as ENEOS Denki and independents such as Looop Denki.167 Typical names a newcomer meets are Looop Denki, ENEOS Denki, Idemitsu Denki, eneco, and the Rakuten, SoftBank, and KDDI ecosystem-bundled retailers, competing on plan shape and bundled value rather than on wires.67
ENEOS Group entered retail electricity for commercial use in 2003 and began household supply as ENEOS Denki in 2016 after full deregulation, selling across Japan except Okinawa and remote islands.6 Looop runs an online switch flow where the applicant enters meter-slip details and receives the supply-start date by email about 1 to 2 weeks later.7 Looop reported passing 400,000 contracts at its 10th anniversary (as of 2026-04-03).7
Starting Service at Move-In
Starting electricity is remote and quick compared with gas. Electricity needs no home visit in the standard case, while gas activation always needs one. File electricity early anyway, since same-day start still takes hours.
What to prepare before you apply
Prepare the new address, the contract-holder name, the desired start date, and a contact phone number.53 Add one location identifier: the previous occupant account reference if known, or the meter Customer Number and supply-point identification number from the meter or meter-reading slip.53
TEPCO numbers have a fixed shape. The customer number runs 10 digits for non-regulated plans and 13 digits for regulated plans, with a 22-digit electricity supply-point identification number for the premises.5 KEPCO asks for the customer number shown on the envelope placed near the breaker or meter.3 Keep these numbers private, since they are needed for later contract steps.5
The 検針票 (kenshinhyou) — "meter-reading slip showing usage, customer number, and supply-point number" is the paper that ties all of this together.7 A photo of it answers most application-form questions at once.
How to apply with the regional incumbent
Apply by phone or online as soon as the move-in date is known. TEPCO accepts applications on the desired start date itself but notes it may take 3 to 4 hours before supply turns on.5 TEPCO offers an English inquiry form and third-party-call phone support, which avoids the Japanese-only queue.2
At a TEPCO address, check the distribution panel before first use. Switch on in order: the amp breaker if one is fitted, then the earth-leakage breaker, then the wiring breaker.5 Smart-meter premises have no manual amp breaker because the contracted amperage is set inside the meter.5
At a KEPCO address the steps mirror this with local wording. Turn all breaker-board switches to ON, confirm whether supply is present, then contact the local KEPCO office with name, address, occupancy date, and the customer number from near the breaker or meter.3 If the breaker is ON and there is still no power, a repair contact through Kansai Electric may be needed.3
No presence is needed for electricity turn-on or turn-off in the standard case.5 Where facility conditions require it, the grid utility or the retailer contacts the customer directly.5
Electricity supply ends at 12:00 on the notified shutoff date. Notify before the last day, and switch the breaker off when leaving for the last time.5
KEPCO asks for move-out contact 4 or 5 days before leaving, with name, leaving date, and customer number.3 Demolition or equipment-removal cases need at least two weeks of phone notice and cannot use the online stop form.5
Switching to a new-power retailer
A retailer switch is a separate application made directly to the new retailer. Moving away from TEPCO Energy Partner needs no separate termination call, since the TEPCO contract ends automatically once the new contract registers.5
The new retailer asks for the current supply-point identification number and customer number from the meter-reading slip or web account.7 It then handles the switch with the incumbent and the grid operator. The common pattern at first move-in is therefore two steps: start with the regional incumbent, then file the new-power switch after service is live.75
One exception sits outside the applicant control. An apartment under whole-building bulk supply may not allow an individual retailer choice (limitation: single retailer-guide source, exact building share unconfirmed).7 Confirm with the property manager before filing a switch from such a building.
Paying the Bill
Payment method is registered separately from the supply start. Set it promptly so the first bill does not default to a paper slip the tenant overlooks.
Bank debit versus credit card
TEPCO accepts credit card, automatic bank withdrawal, paper invoice, or SMS-billed payment regardless of plan, though some contract types are limited to invoice.5 Paper invoices clear at banks, convenience stores, and apps such as LINE Pay.5 The 口座振替 (kouza furikae) — "automatic bank-account debit transfer" is the set-and-forget default many long-term tenants use.5
Withdrawal stays available even when the bank-account name differs from the contract-holder name.5 KEPCO likewise presents automatic bank or postal transfer as the convenient default, with in-person payment points as the alternative.8
Billing rhythm and what to watch
Bills arrive monthly, and receipt handling follows the payment method: receipt at payment for paper invoices, app display for SMS or app pay, and the card-company statement for credit-card pay.5 TEPCO does not reissue receipts; a paid Certificate of Payment costs 1,000 yen per copy plus stamp duty when the certified amount exceeds 50,000 yen excluding tax, and is unavailable for credit-card or SMS payers (as of 2026-09-06; confirm current figures with TEPCO Energy Partner).5
| Item | Amount | As of | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Certificate of Payment reissue fee | 1,000 yen per copy plus stamp duty over 50,000 yen excl. tax | 2026-09-065 | Credit-card and SMS payers use card or payment-service records instead |
| Fuel-cost adjustment cycle | monthly, per TEPCO rate notices | 2026-08-282 | Per-kWh component moves month to month; attach the month to any quoted rate |
TEPCO publishes monthly fuel-cost adjustments inside electricity rates, with September 2026 and October 2026 notices observed at research time (as of 2026-08-28).2 Treat any printed per-kWh table as month-stamped rather than fixed. At move-out, settlement runs on the meter reading to the shutoff date, so keep a forwarding address or an active payment method until the last bill clears.54
Good to know
The lights may be on but you still need a contract
Supply can look live at handover, with the breaker ON and the lights working, while no account exists in the new tenant name. Both TEPCO and KEPCO frame move-in as apply first and then confirm supply at the panel, not the reverse.53
An unregistered tenant risks billing confusion with the previous occupant or the landlord. Registering even when the room already has power puts the bill in the right name from day one.
Amperage shapes the base fee
The contracted amperage sets the fixed monthly base fee, and drawing past it trips the breaker. TEPCO breaker guidance distinguishes premises with a manual amp breaker from smart-meter premises where the amperage is set inside the meter.5
Tenants who rarely run several large appliances at once can consider a lower contracted amperage, while frequent trips point the other way. Either change goes through the retailer, not through the breaker panel alone.
Frequency and voltage basics for newcomers
Japan runs 100V nationwide, with 200V outlets shaped differently for specific appliances.9 Frequency splits at the Fuji River and Itoigawa line: 50Hz in the east, 60Hz in the west, with the KEPCO area at 100V and 60Hz.9
Some motor and timer appliances built for one frequency run poorly or not at all on the other. KEPCO lists televisions and radios as portable across areas, refrigerators and air conditioners as degraded, and washing machines, microwaves, and non-inverter fluorescents as potentially unusable, with manual checks recommended for exceptions.9
Confirm which company actually serves your address
TEPCO steps in this guide cover the Kanto service area only. Kansai addresses follow KEPCO offices and hours, and Chubu and other regions follow their own incumbents, using the same structural steps with different contact points.238
KEPCO reception runs 9:00 to 18:00 excluding Saturdays, Sundays, public holidays, and New Year holidays, with 18-language three-way-call support including English (as of 2026-09-06; confirm current figures with Kansai Electric).8 Using the wrong region contact is the most common avoidable delay.
See also
- Move-Out Procedures: Closing Utility Accounts
- Setting Up Water Service in Japan
- How Renting Works in Japan
- Bank Account in Japan for Foreigners: The Six-Month Rule
- Gas in Japan: City Gas vs. Propane and the Safety Inspection
- Choosing a New-Power (Shin-Denryoku) Retailer