Japan Power Bills to Swell as Utilities Pass on Solar Costs

(Bloomberg) — Japanese businesses stand to pay as much as 9 billion yen ($95 million) more in monthly electricity bills under a new plan to encourage solar-power generation.

Starting in November, the government will compel utilities to buy surplus solar power generated by households and factories and pay twice the regular rate as an incentive for installing solar panels. The country

Japan is following Germany and Spain in forcing utilities to pay a premium for the power, a system known as feed-in tariffs, as part of efforts to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions. The program is meant to halve the cost of installing solar panels within three to five years and help Japan reach a target of increasing solar output 40-fold by 2030.

The premiums will boost costs for Japanese industry by about 3 billion yen a month for the first several years, and the expense may triple in another five to 10 years, according to the report.

Households will pay an average of 30 yen a month more, rising to as much as 90 yen, according to the trade ministry