報告書番号

Y08036

タイトル（和文）

北欧4ヶ国における電力小売自由化の需要家の視点からの評価

タイトル（英文）

Electricity Market Reforms in the Nordic Countries - Historical Evolution and Differences in Customer Choice Behavior -

概要 （図表や脚注は「報告書全文」に掲載しております）

フィンランド、スウェーデン、ノルウェー、デンマークの北欧4ヶ国を対象に、電力小売自由化の導入経緯、制度の違い等を把握した。そして、一般家庭および業務・産業用需要家の供給者変更の推移や実態を調査した。その結果、ノルウェーがもっとも頻繁に変更しており、その次に、スウェーデン、フィンランド、デンマークと続いているとわかった。この需要家の供給者変更の違いは、国ごとに異なる規制環境や市場条件を反映していると考察できた。他方、いずれの国でも、燃料高騰や渇水等で供給者間の料金格差が顕著になると供給者変更割合も増えるなど、供給者変更割合も月ごとに大きく変動していること、コールセンターやサービスセンターを活用した対応、請求書関連サービスの充実などの顧客サービスの充実によって顧客満足度の向上や顧客ロイヤルティの構築が図られ、近年、供給者変更割合が減少する傾向にあること、などの共通点が確かめられた。

概要 （英文）

In the debate about deregulating the electric power industry, it is crucial to develop a quantitative, long-term understanding of issues such as supplier switching by customers and variation in electricity rates after deregulation, while keeping in mind whether or not there is a benefit for the customer. In this regard, it is expected that useful lessons can be drawn from trends in Europe, where there is a track record of deregulation, particularly in the Nordic countries, namely, Finland, Sweden, Norway, and Denmark (Iceland is excluded from this study), where there is a high rate of supplier switching.
The purpose of this research is to describe the situation after liberalization, such as the variation and actual status of supplier switching by residential and commercial/industrial customers, and the handling of customers by electric power companies, in the Nordic countries, and derive implications for Japan. Main findings are as follows:
1. Looking at the rate of supplier switching by residential and commercial/industrial customers, switching is most frequent in Norway, followed by Sweden, Finland, and Denmark. One possible reason for this is differences in the starting year of full retail deregulation, which was 1991 in Norway, 1996 in Sweden, 1997 in Finland and 2003 in Denmark. In addition, when deregulation was introduced in Norway, there were originally some constraints on supplier switching by customers, such as a charge of 246 Norway kroner (approx. \3,000) for each switch when switching 4 times or less per year, and a requirement for the customer to self-pay for an automatic meter reading system, but after 1998 it became possible to switch at no charge in 1 week units. In contrast, free switching was realized in 1998 in Finland and in 1999 in Sweden. For residential customers, supplier switching is also related to the annual average consumption per household of approx. 26,600kWh in Norway, approx. 17,000kWh in Sweden, approx. 7,500kWh in Finland and approx. 5,000kWh in Denmark. The results suggest that the regulatory environment and market conditions, which vary by country in this way, have a large effect on supplier switching by customers.
2. With retail liberalization, there was a rise in price competition and service competition to secure and retain customers by the 100 suppliers in Norway, 130 suppliers in Sweden, and 70 suppliers in both Finland and Denmark. During this process, the supplier switching rates of all countries varied greatly from month to month. For example, the supplier switching rate increased as significant disparities in supplier rates appeared due to factors such as rising fuel prices and drought. On the other hand, it was also found that supplier switching rates have tended to decline in recent years because suppliers have worked to improve customer satisfaction and build customer loyalty. They have done this by enhancing customer service with better response using call centers and service centers, and improvement of billing related services.
3. After deregulation, the major electric power companies with operations in the Nordic countries underwent repeated cycles of M&A, and were reorganized with specialization in the energy business. As a result, it was found that, among the five leading electric power companies such as E.ON, FORTUM and VATTENFALL, there was improvement in profitability and growth, as well as improvement in overall corporate performance, such as steady performance of stock prices.

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