Japan’s gas power and lessons for the Philippines

I am in Japan’s fourth largest city by population size.

- BIENVENIDO S. OPLAS, JR.

Our route was Manila-Narita-Nagoya and our domestic flight from Narita took off in the evening and I saw from the plane how bright Japan is at night, especially Tokyo — so wide, so bright, so modern.Japan’s total power generation in 2024 was 1,016 terawatt-hours (TWh), 7.8 times more than the Philippines’ 130 TWh. Of that 1,016 TWh, natural gas contributed 31.3%, coal 29.6%, nuclear 8.4%, hydro 7.8%, other renewables (solar, wind, biomass) 15%, and oil and others contribute 8%.

Japan is fifth in the world when it comes to gas power generation with 318 TWh, after the US, Russia, Iran, and China. But when it comes to gas Reserves/ Production (R/P) ratio, among the largest are Iran with 128 years of R/P, Saudi Arabia with 54 years, and Russia with 59 years (see the table).

The largest electricity company in Japan is JERA Co., Inc., contributing one-third of total power generation. They own the largest gas plants in Japan, and they are one of the largest LNG buyers in the world. Meaning JERA supplies the energy for those bright lights in Tokyo, Nagoya, Osaka, etc.