In this increasingly competitive environment, we work to provide services to meet customer needs and to swiftly and accurately respond to customers' energy-related requests, in the hopes that customers continue to choose us. In addition, our Marketing & Sales division and our new company, Hokuriku Electric Power Biz Energy Solution, work together to further strengthen our sales efforts.
In addition to making a stable supply of power to the Hokuriku area our highest priority, we are also actively working to develop our sales outside of the Hokuriku area, by promoting our electricity in the Tokyo metropolitan area for homes, offices, factories, and more, as well as strengthening our alliances with other enterprises.
Starting in July of 2016, we began issuing Hoku-Link Points, which can be redeemed for products or gift certificates for local businesses in the region. This system has been used by many of our customers. We plan to continue to offer services based on our customers' needs, and working to increase membership (goal for FY2017: 150,000 new members, for a cumulative total of 330,000 members).
The name "Hoku-Link" comes from our desire to connect (link) with our customers and local communities, as a business with roots in the Hokuriku area.
In addition to power rate consultations, we also offer practical and effective energy consulting services, including proposals for everything from simple operational improvements to updated equipment, through services like energy saving diagnoses based on energy measurement data and other factors.
Beyond just electricity, we also provide total solution services that incorporate gas or heat. Through these services, we can respond to customers' various energy-related needs, helping to bring about energy savings and reduced costs.
In order to improve these, in March of 2017, we established Hokuriku Electric Power Biz Energy Solutions Co., Ltd. (Hokuden BEST), a company specializing in energy solutions business.
Our Marketing & Sales division and Hokuden BEST work together to offer more useful, better targeted services to our customers.
In April of 2016, we began offering our Hokuriku Kagayaki Contract power rates for residential customers in the Tokyo metropolitan area, and by January of 2017, we had achieved 1,000 sales.
We have been well regarded by customers originally from the Hokuriku area, and we plan to continue meeting customers' needs and increasing sales.
We provide electricity sales to corporate customers in the Tokyo metropolitan area, such as offices and factories, with a focus on customers connected to the Hokuriku area, and we have been well regarded.
In April of 2017, we began offering our Hokuriku Biz Kagayaki Contract and Low-Voltage Electric Power rate tariffs for low-voltage corporate customers in the Tokyo metropolitan area. By establishing new rates with advantages for corporate customers who use large amounts of electricity, such as shops, offices, and factories, we are expanding our electricity sales to a wider customer base.
In order to expand sales, we are collaborating with local financial institutions, working with LP gas sales companies to establish gas-and-electricity sets for sale, and working with communications companies to establish internet access-and-electricity sets for sale.
We will continue to collaborate with other companies, in order to provide added value to our customers while working to further expand our sales.
