JGA announces "Approaches by the City Gas Industry Towards 2030" On October 27, the Japan Gas Association announced the "Approaches by the City Gas Industry Based on the Direction of Future Energy Policy", in which it presents a plan to expand natural gas use towards 2030. In addition to the conventional 3E's of Energy security, Environmental friendliness and Economic efficiency, the plan emphasizes the growing importance of enhanced energy security, energy system reform and the establishment of an energy supply-demand structure that contributes to the sustainable development of Japan, in response to reviews of the energy policy after the Great East Japan Earthquake. The plan also groups actions to be taken by the city gas industry into: (1) short-term and (2) mid- to long-term actions. (1) Short-term actions To ensure the supply-demand stability of electricity, the following measures will be taken: (1) Introducing and enhancing distributed energy systems, including gas cogeneration systems and fuel cell systems, to complement the supply capacity of grid power; (2) Lowering peak electricity consumption by using gas air-conditioning systems and gas heating appliances; (3) Promoting the shift from high power-consuming equipment to gas equipment for kitchen and hot-water supply systems. Furthermore, to strengthen energy security in a disaster or power outage situation, the following measures will be taken: (1) Securing power supply redundancy by introducing distributed energy systems; (2) Introducing and spreading power outage-ready gas equipment in the market; (3) Studying measures for improving security at the city block level. (2) Mid- to long-term actions In the mid- to long-term, the following four measures will be promoted: (1) Shifting to natural gas and its efficient use; (2) Spreading the use of distributed energy systems; (3) Securing stable and inexpensive natural gas resources; (4) Enhancing the domestic supply network of natural gas. The table below shows the five major gas systems that are closely related to the above efforts and their potential towards 2030. These gas systems will bring benefits such as lower CO2emissions, more stable supply and demand of electricity, and expansion of domestic demand. To achieve the targets listed above, all 209 gas utilities of Japan will work together in line with the energy policy of Japan. The Japan Gas Association will continue to support the work of gas utilities nationwide, and actively speak out in the upcoming review of the energy policy to ensure that the recommendations of the city gas industry are incorporated in the new energy policy. >>> Approaches by the City Gas Industry Based on the Direction of Future Energy Policy

IGRC2011 IGRC2011(International Gas Union Research Conference 2011) was held in Seoul, Korea, for three days from October 19 to 21. IGRC is the world's largest research-oriented conference of the gas industry, hosted by the IGU to promote discussion and information exchanges among those people worldwide involved in the development of gas technologies. Since the first conference in 1980, IGRC has usually been held every three years. Under the theme "Innovation is the key to a sustainable future!", the conference gathered 512 participants from 39 countries this year. More than 100 participants joined the event from Japan, with presentations by nine participants in the oral presentation session and five participants in the workshop. Further, in the poster session, 61 out of a total of 187 presentations were made by participants from Japan. Some of the presentation materials from oral presentations given by Japanese gas utilities are shown below. The next IGRC will be held in Copenhagen, Denmark in 2014. >>> Experience and Future Prospects of Fuel Cell mCHP for Residential Use (Oral Presentation F) >>> Various Methods to Evaluate the Long-term Reliability of PE Pipes and Joints in use at Osaka Gas (Oral Presentation K) >>> Smart Energy Networks - Natural gas taking its share towards a low carbon society (Workshop 2)

JGA launches the Promotion Center of Fuel Shift to Natural Gas To encourage industry to further shift to natural gas, the JGA launched the Promotion Center of Fuel Shift to Natural Gas on October 1. The Center will organize seminars to strengthen the engineering capabilities of small and medium-sized city gas utilities, conduct public relations toward end-users, and boost collaboration with related organizations and manufacturers. The Strategic Energy Plan of Japan, which was endorsed by the Cabinet in June 2010, sets the goal of raising the ratio of natural gas in industrial-sector fuel consumption from approximately 10% at present to 15% by 2020 and 20% by 2030. Furthermore, the energy environment is changing greatly due to the changing energy supply-demand structure of Japan triggered by the nuclear plant disaster and Great East Japan Earthquake. A national shift to natural gas by industry, which would effectively reduce CO2 emissions and raise the competitiveness of domestic industry, is becoming increasingly important as CO2 emissions are likely to rise dramatically due to increased use of thermal power plants. This is why the JGA has launched the Promotion Center of Fuel Shift to Natural Gas. Operation Results of City Gas Cogeneration Systems for FY2010 (Total installed capacity) Based on a survey of the 209 city gas utilities nationwide, the JGA summarized the operational results of city gas cogeneration systems for FY2010. The total installed capacity of gas cogeneration systems (excluding steam turbines) using city gas as of the end of FY2010 (end of March 2011) was 4,532 MW, up 46 MW (1.0%) from FY2009. The total installed base was 112,002 units, up 15,376 units (15.9%). The total installed base was 6,105 units for commercial and industrial use, up 99 units (1.6%) from the end of FY2009 and 105,897 units for residential use (gas engine and fuel cell systems), up 15,277 units (16.9%). The city gas industry will continue to promote city gas cogeneration system, which is a highly environment-friendly and efficient distributed energy system. City Gas Sales in the First Half of FY 2011 (from April to September) The total domestic gas sales in the first half of FY2011 (the total of 209 gas utilities in Japan) was 16,380 million m3 (41.8605 MJ/m3 equivalent), which was 1.2% down from the first half of the previous fiscal year. By sector: - The gas sales in the residential sector fell by 2.0% from the first half of the previous fiscal year due to causes such as the warm climate from April through May, which resulted in the decrease of gas demand for water heating. - The gas sales in the commercial sector and other sectors (hospitals, public facilities, etc.) fell by 10.3% and 10.5% respectively from the first half of the previous fiscal year due to causes such as the cool summer, which resulted in the decrease of gas demand for air conditioning, and the customer's energy saving efforts. - The gas sales in the industry sector rose by 3.5% from the previous year mainly due to increased operating time of customer facilities. By region: - The regional gas sales grew or fell by the following percentages from the first half of the previous fiscal year: -2.8% in Hokkaido, -25.5% in Tohoku, -1.3% in Kanto-Koshinetsu, -3.1% in Chubu-Hokuriku, +1.3% in Kinki, +2.3% in Chugoku, +4.1% in Shikoku, and -0.5% in Kyushu-Okinawa. Gas Facts in Japan 2011

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