Chubu Electric Power Co. said Thursday it will cut power prices for the first time in two years to compete with rival Toho Gas Co.
Chubu Electric will lower prices starting in April, President Toshio Mita said in a statement posted on the company's Web site.
The utility hasn't decided on the extent of the cuts, according to spokesman Hirotaka Iwase.
Chubu Electric, Japan's third-biggest utility, is competing for gas sales in central Japan with Toho Gas. The price reductions may squeeze the company's profit as fuel purchase costs rise.
"We expect this tough environment to continue, but we would like to reduce our customers' burdens by implementing the price changes," Mita said in a statement. "Power prices have risen for all our customers recently because of high oil prices."
Under a government regulation, power and gas companies in Japan are allowed to adjust their prices quarterly, based on import costs. On Tuesday, Tokyo Electric Power Co. and other utilities said their tariffs will rise from January to March, in line with increased fuel import costs in the July-September period.
Chubu Electric last cut power prices in April 2006.
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