TEPCO creates new subsidiary to snap up lucrative energy deals

The unit will be dedicated to investing in new companies.

Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings (TEPCO) has established a new subsidiary, TEPCO Ventures, tasked with developing new businesses into venture companies.

TEPCO Ventures, which will begin operating on July 2, will develop both wholly-owned subsidiaries within the TEPCO Group and joint-venture companies with partners in various industries either in Japan or overseas, the group said in a statement.

The new subsidiary was established as many new companies are expected to be developed in a variety of fields for next-generation “Utility 3.0” businesses, which will merge energy and other industrial platforms.

TEPCO Ventures will replace TEPCO's New Business Task Force, which had previously been investing in domestic and overseas ventures. The New Business Task Force was tasked with investing in new companies with advanced business models and commercializing promising ideas from both inside and outside of TEPCO.

TEPCO Ventures will cooperate with core companies and other members of the TEPCO Group to create new business through quick decision-making and strategic allocation of corporate resources.

This move is part of the company’s response to the challenges which have plagued electric utilities worldwide, namely deregulation, decentralization, decarbonization, digitalization and decreasing population. TEPCO Ventures is expected provide long-term business sustainability by increasing the speed of project development, the statement noted.

TEPCO Ventures will focus on industries such as distributed energy, solutions based on storage batteries, infrastructure utilizing drones, IoT technologies for location services especially for children and seniors, and power infrastructure beyond the scope of electricity.