VOL. XL

No. 28

14-July-1997

GAS

Under Pressure To Cut Electricity Costs, Japanese Utilities Target LNG SupplyContracts

Under pressure from the country's powerful Ministry of International Trade and Industry(MITI) to lower electricity tariffs, Japanese utility companies have begun looking forways to cut costs across the length and breadth of their operations. The new cost-cuttingdrive was touched off earlier this year by a surprise directive from MITI instructingpower companies to reduce the...