Abstract
The city gas companies in Japan sell 25, 400 million-cubic meter gas per year to 26million consumers. The amount of sale has increased favorably into 46% in the last ten years.Although there are more than 230 city gas companies in Japan, four companies with more than 1 million consumers occupy 80% of the amount of sale, and 70% of the consumers.
The share of high calory gas has become 87% of the whole, and concentration to the highcalory gas is progressing. Local gas companies are tackling natural gas conversion and high caloryquantification which are big subjects with might and main.
Nine gas companies in Akita supply city gas to 120, 000 consumers by using natural gasproduced in the prefecture. The gas business in the prefecture has reached a plateau in the numberof consumers and the amount of sale, because of reduction in population, deterioration of economicconditions, and intensified competition with other fuel.
This time, I will talk about the outline of the city gas business in Japan, and the problemwhich the local city gas companies are facing. Then, I will mention the change of the environmentsurrounding local city gas companies, and the correspondence to such change.
