Tokyo, Japan – November 29, 2018 – Skipping Stone, a global energy markets consulting and technology services firm, has assisted several U.S. based retail energy marketers to enter the Japan electricity market. Skipping Stone client, XOOM Energy Japan GK, recently achieved the rank of #24 among the 400 electricity retailers in the Japan market. Skipping Stone analyzes regulatory and market activities and tracks market share statistics in its monthly Japan Energy Market Report, which also indicates XOOM Energy Japan is the fastest growing retailer in Japan.
“Congratulations to XOOM Energy Japan, this achievement is remarkable given the company only launched its Japan operations two years ago,” said Peter Weigand, Chairman and CEO of Skipping Stone. “There are challenges to expanding to any new market; however, going to a different country with language barriers and hiring people who don’t have retail energy experience is an even greater challenge. The fact that XOOM Energy Japan was not only able to overcome those challenges, but also grow so rapidly is a credit to their management team,” continued Weigand.
“We knew, being the first non-Japanese company to be registered by METI to serve low-voltage consumers and being early to this new market would present unique challenges,” said Thomas Ulry, CEO of XOOM Energy Japan. “But with our roots in a wide range of North American retail markets, we understood this experience would give us an advantage in Japan. We have been working hard to transfer this know-how to our Tokyo team while adapting our business practices to Japanese culture and the evolving market. While much work remains, we are pleased with our progress.”
The Japan retail electricity and gas markets are open to every customer to switch their supply from the utility to a retailer. With 83 million potential electric customers and 25 million gas customers, the Japan retail energy market is the largest and newest in the world. Switching activity in electricity has been robust with an average of 400,000 switches per month. As of September 2018, there are still over 85% of the customers who have not switched.
“We expect the switching activity to get even more robust as the price to beat from utilities is slated to be dissolved in April 2020,” added Weigand. “We fully expect to see some of our other US retail clients we have assisted in entering the Japan market to hit the Top 25 in the not too distant future.”
About Skipping Stone
Skipping Stone is an energy markets consulting firm that helps clients navigate market changes, capitalize on opportunities and manage business risks. Our services include market assessment, strategy development, strategy implementation, managed services, technology selection, technology implementation, project management and talent management. Our sector focus areas are natural gas and power markets, demand response, technology services, renewable energy, and distributed energy resources. Skipping Stone’s model of deploying energy industry veterans has delivered measurable bottom-line results for over 270 clients globally. Headquartered in Boston, the firm has regional offices in Atlanta, Houston, Los Angeles, Tokyo, and London. For more information, visit SkippingStone.com or www.skippingstone.co.jp.
For information about our monthly Japan Energy Markets Report (in English), please contact Atsuyo Miller. AMiller@skippingstone.com (714) 316-1921
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