Electricity prices in Japan wholesale markets strengthened in the week ending July 31, lifted up by a mild resurgent in demand after successive holidays. Based on the Rim Power Index (Day ahead 24 hours), the weekday power prices in the eastern market, including Hokkaido, Tohoku and Tokyo area, averaged out at 5.41 yen per kilowatt hour (kWh), up 0.95 yen/kWh or 21.3 % from the previous week, meanwhile prices in the western, made up of the Chubu, Hokuriku, Kansai, Chugoku, Shikoku and Kyushu area, at 4.72 yen/kWh, up 0.92 yen/kWh or 24.2%.

Daily electricity demand seemed to recover to some extent compared with the previous week that includes only three weekdays due to tow national holidays of Jul 23 and 24. Industry facilities are disposed to run at lower operating rates in such short weekdays sandwiched between a weekend and consecutive holidays for checkups and so on. So, after four holidays from Jul 23 to 26, factories and plants appeared to crank up to normal levels, bolstering electricity demand.

The premium of Hokkaido to Tokyo narrowed to 0.08 yen/kWh from 0.19 seen in the prior week, with Hokkaido's 24 hours average 5.48 yen/kWh (previous week's ave:4.64 yen) and Tokyo's 5.40 yen/kWh (4.45 yen), which are reckoned in conformity to data compiled by the Japan Electric Power Exchange (JEPX). Hokkaido prices often drift at higher levels than other areas especially in the winter season. Tohoku's average stayed in the same orbit with Tokyo. Nighttime averages for Tokyo and Tohoku showed a wider gain than daytime. Demand for air-conditioning in nighttime was believed to rise, because daily minimum temperatures especially for Tokyo ticked up.

Kansai's weekly average gained by 0.92 yen/kWh to 4.72 yen/kWh, and Kyushu's continued to go through the same motion. The gap of the two areas stayed at zero. Kansai area is the biggest market in the western Japan, and Kyushu's prices are apt to hover at less expensive levels alongside of other areas. Both areas' daytime average recorded bigger gains than nighttime in distinction from eastern three areas. Although the rainy season ended on Jul 30 in northern Kyushu, Shikoku, Chugoku and on Jul 31 in Kinki, in protracted rainy season, clouds apparently hindered photovoltaic power stations in western Japan.

On JEPX, the weekday average of System Price (Day ahead 24 hours), which were figured based on the data of 9 areas, advanced by 0.84 yen/kWh or 20.4% to 4.96 from the previous week's 4.46 yen/kWh, with the average volume increasing by 69,789 megawatts per hour (MWh) to 947,398 MWh compared to the previous week.

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