Kansai Electric Power will decommission the 1.44GW LNG-fired Himeji No. 1 Power Station’s two remaining units on February 29, 2028, the utility announced on October 19, 2026.
According to the statement, the 729MW Unit 5 and the 713MW Unit 6, both LNG-fired combined cycle gas turbines (CCGT), began commercial operation in April 1995 and May 1996, respectively. The retirements come ahead of the construction of three 650MW-class units, which will increase the power plant’s output by about 35% to 1.95GW.
The utility began the environmental assessment process for the new units in December 2024 and submitted the methodology in September 2025. It aims to bring them online in FY2033 or later.
Himeji No. 1 Power Station is one of Kansai Electric Power’s five operational thermal power plants, alongside the 2GW LNG-fired Sakaiko and 2.92GW Himeji No. 2, the 1.8GW coal-fired Maizuru, and the 600MW oil-fired Gobo.
If the units retire as planned, their phase-out might leave a capacity gap until the 1.86GW Nanko Power Station completes repowering. With other companies including Shikoku Electric Power and J-POWER also decommissioning aging thermal assets, METI has been considering options to bridge the shortfall until projects secured in long-term decarbonization auctions come online.
