JCCU conducts a survey on monthly household budgets and living* with the cooperation of about 1,000 household survey monitors. This survey showed an increase in household electricity bills.

A sharp increase in electricity bills has been seen since November 2021. In March and April 2022, it rose to 135% compared to the previous year, and after that, it remained (at) around 125%.

Many of the monitors also voiced their concern about electricity bills, indicating that it is a heavy burden on their household budgets, as their incomes are not increasing.

 

Further price hikes are expected in the future, and although the government has stated that it will promote measures to curb electric rate hikes, effective measures are still required.

・The higher prices of food and gasoline are a hardship, but soaring electricity and gas bills are also severe. I heard that they are still going to increase in the future. Salaries are not increasing, but rather decreasing, and bonuses are being cut. I am worried about the future. (June, Hyogo Prefecture, 60s)

・We are complaining about the rising electricity bills. The electricity bill for July this year is 13,782 yen for 387 kWh use, compared to 9,295 yen for the same kWh use last year. The total electricity bill from January to July increased by 32,227 yen compared to the previous year. How should we live as pensioners? We are becoming more and more anxious. (July, Chiba, 80s)

・Electricity usage has definitely decreased by more than 5%, but the rates remain the same. Can it be reduced next month with this heat? (July, Miyagi, 60s)

・A year ago, the fuel cost adjustment unit price was minus 3.11 yen per 1kWh and I was happy that my electricity bill was deducted, but now it is over plus 4 yen and in September it will even go up to 5 or 6 yen units. I'm switching to a cheaper electric company, but under these circumstances, I don't think I'll feel it's cheap anymore. (August, Kanagawa, 60s)

・I'm surprised at the overwhelmingly high cost of food and electricity bills after tallying up the monthly household expenses. I thought I was saving a lot of energy, and that my meals were simple, but saving even more money is stressful, and I wonder if it is the same for everyone else. (June, Kanagawa, 40s)

. I don't have any big expenses, but I am aware of the rising cost of utilities. I want to save on electricity, but I can't be stingy with the air conditioner to prevent heat stroke... (July Hyogo, 70s)

・Why is this high cost of electricity? I am surprised at this high electricity bill. (August, Hyogo, 60s)

・Price hikes and price increases are making life difficult for us. In particular, electricity rates have gone up and in 8 months from January to August, the price reached 51,500 yen higher than the same period of last year. (August, Chiba, 80s)

* JCCU conducts the "Survey on household budgets and living" to investigate the actual household budgets of its members and to disseminate the results/findings and issues surrounding their lives to the general public. Co-op members who have registered as monitors in advance are asked to answer questions about their monthly household budget (income, expenditures, and income/expenses) via the Internet, and the responses are then aggregated and analyzed.