Hokkaido Electric Power and its subsidiary Hokkaido Power Engineering will suspend or decommission four oil-fired and gas-fired thermal power units with a combined capacity of 648MW at the end of FY2029, the companies announced on October 2, 2026.
According to the statement, Hokkaido Electric Power will suspend the 250MW Tomakomai Power Station Unit 1 in Tomakomai City, which uses heavy oil, crude oil, and natural gas. The utility will decommission the 148MW light oil-fired Onbetsu Power Station, comprising Units 1 and 2, in Kushiro City.
Hokkaido Power Engineering will suspend the 250MW heavy oil-fired Tomakomai Joint Thermal Power Station Unit 3, which is the power plant’s only operational unit.
Tomakomai Power Station Unit 1 was commissioned in November 1973, Tomakomai Joint Thermal Power Station Unit 3 in April 1974, and Onbetsu Power Station in May 1978. The companies cited aging equipment as the reason behind the suspensions and decommissioning and said that all four units are expected to continue to operate until the end of March 2030.
The utility’s thermal portfolio consists of coal- and oil-fired power plants, and a single LNG-fired unit, the 569.4MW Ishikariwan Shinko Power Station Unit 1, which was commissioned in February 2019. The asset’s Units 2 and 3 were awarded long-term decarbonization auction (LTDA) contracts and are scheduled for completion in FY2030 and FY2033, respectively.
Hokkaido Electric Power is also considering a new LNG-fired power plant in Tomakomai, with commissioning targeted for FY2035. Suspending rather than decommissioning the two Tomakomai units might allow the companies to reactivate them in the future if sufficient new supply cannot be secured.
