In the week ending February 14 with less weekdays owing to a national holiday of Feb 11, Japan's wholesale electricity prices in western markets were battered by further loosening of supply-demand balance deriving from spring-like weather conditions, with eastern markets, which include cold regions such as Hokkaido and Tohoku, staging a relatively-minor decline.

Based on the Rim Power Index (Day ahead 24 hours), the weekday power prices in the eastern market, including the Hokkaido, Tohoku and Tokyo area, averaged out at 7.97 yen per kilowatt hour (kWh), down 0.59 yen/kWh or 6.9 % from the previous week, meanwhile prices in the western, made up of the Chubu, Hokuriku, Kansai, Chugoku, Shikoku and Kyushu area, at 6.77 yen/kWh, down 1 .24 yen/kWh, or 15.5%.

The price difference between Hokkaido and Tokyo stood at 1.22 yen/kWh compared with the prior week's 1.65 yen/kWh, with Hokkaido's average 9.09 yen/kWh (previous week's ave:10.08 yen) and Tokyo's 7.87 yen/kWh (8.43 yen), which are calculated from data compiled by the Japan Electric Power Exchange (JEPX). Tokyo's maximum temperatures for Feb 14 were estimated on a day ahead basis at 18 degrees Celsius, 7.5 C higher than normal. Tokyo area's average price for Feb 14 delivery marked the weekday lowest of 6.65 yen/kWh. Hokkaido area saw its weekly low of 7.89 yen/kWh for Feb 14 delivery, probably affected by the supply glut in Tokyo area.

Kansai's weekly average tumbled by 1.35 yen/kWh to 6.84 yen/kWh, and Kyushu's fell by 0.89 yen/kWh to 6.45 yen/kWh. Max temperatures for Osaka, the west Japan's largest city, were projected at 18 C, 7.7 C higher. And minimum temperatures were also forecasted at higher-than-average levels in every region in western Japan.

On JEPX, the weekday average of System Price (Day ahead 24 hours), which are computed based on the data of 9 areas, dropped by 0.88 yen/kWh or 10.8 % to 7.29 yen/kWh, with the average volume shrinking by 15,522 to 907,627 MWh from the prior week.

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