Maximization of Human Capital

Ensuring employees necessary skills

NICIGAS believes that the growth of each and every employee through the acquisition of new skills is essential for corporate growth, and that this necessity is only going to increase. The background to this is that, as technology advances, existing business models become obsolete more quickly, and the development of IT technology has led to the increased efficiency of business operations making it a prerequisite for employees to be able to multi-task. In order to put its growth strategy into practice, we are acquiring the necessary skills through internal training and collaboration with external organizations. In addition, we are raising the aspirations of its employees by providing opportunities for them to take on roles that are new to them, regardless of their age or career.

NICIGAS will acquire the following skills in order to realize a new medium- to long-term growth strategy.

Energy Retail

• The ability to expand the customer base and propose a wide range of optimal services, such as energy solutions, for each customer

Platform

• Financial knowledge and an understanding of technology to be able to propose the merits of introducing a platform to corporations using logical and concrete figures, as well as a management perspective

Digital/DX

• The skills to link business issues with technology and implement projects to solve those issues • IT skills required for Energy Solutions and Platform businesses

(1) Human capital reallocation

NICIGAS integrated NICIGAS and the three City Gas subsidiaries in January 2024 and implemented an organizational reorganization that divided them into its own function as an Integrated Energy Retail Company (NICIGAS), an Energy Platform Company (Energy Sola Platforms), and a Systems Company (Kumono Ucyusen). As a result of the reorganization, taking into account each employee's strengths and weaknesses, we will reallocate human capital and at the same time accelerate in working on three divisions: energy retail, platform, and IT/DX.

Integrated Energy Retail Company (NICIGAS)

The Company is training personnel who can make integrated energy proposals for LP gas, Electricity, and City gas by consolidating the Group’s sales operations. Furthermore, the reallocation of personnel based on their individual strengths has also led to improved employee performance. For example, an employee from the former City Gas subsidiaries, who was in charge of customer relations before the reorganization, achieved the best results in the Company for acquiring new LP gas contracts after the reorganization. In addition to the reallocation, sharing the sales mindset for LP gas cultivated in the competitive market also had a positive impact.

Ms.Kogure / Deputy Sales Office Manager, Kasukabe North Sales Office (from formerly Tosai Gas).
Ms.Kogure has achieved good performances in sales of LP gas, electricity, and gas equipment through customer-oriented sales activities. She is enhancing customer satisfaction and preventing churn, by proposing the best solutions that fits customer's lifestyle, such as proposing E&G bundling with a set discount or recommending a hybrid water heater for more efficient energy use.

Energy Platform Company (Energy Sola Platforms)

Energy Sola Platforms has established a dedicated department for Platform sales, and is strengthening its B2B sales forces. This department is headed by a general manager who has rich experience in B2B sales and was transferred from the Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) Group, and the department is strengthening its Platform sales by combining the sales mindset of NICIGAS with the skills needed to meet the demands of corporate customers. In addition, by consolidating the personnel responsible for the infrastructure of each company, including filling, delivery, safety inspection, and pipelines, Energy Sola has been able to review the infrastructure business from a diverse range of perspectives, and this has reduced costs and improved safety inspection efficiency. The awareness of providing services as an infrastructure company has increased, and this is leading to growth in the Platform business.

Systems Company (Kumono Ucyusen)

"Kumono Ucyusen," a systems company specialized in IT/DX, has a responsibility for both energy retail and platform/infrastructure systems. The reorganization made it clear that Kumono Ucysen would take full responsibility for the entire system. Kumono Ucyuusen has set new KPIs to improve profits and corporate value, and enhanced the management mindset of each and every employee in charge of IT/DX. In addition to conventional systems-related training, we are enhancing training related to knowledge for management, and developing human resources who can promote systems development from both technical and management perspectives.

(2) Employee reskilling

The need for reskilling employees is increasing in order to respond to the rapidly changing external environment and the necessity for employees to be able to multi-task along with the development of IT technology. We will focus on improving employee skills by implementing training and job rotation, etc., in order to acquire the ability to propose solutions and digital/DX skills necessary for the realization of growth strategies. We also encourage the voluntary growth of employees by creating an environment where they can challenge new jobs without experience, regardless of age or career.

Skills

Initiatives

Sales skills for energy solution equipment

• Training sessions on sales know-how and knowledge for equipment such as hybrid water heaters, solar panels, and storage batteries. Also, provision of explanatory videos and materials

Digital/DX skills

• Provide support for acquiring IT passport certification to improve the IT skills of all employees • Provide support for selected employees in acquiring cutting-edge IT skills through participation in information analysis training and courses at the University of Tokyo’s Metaverse School of Engineering

Acquiring a management perspective

• Job rotation across departments and organizations, to improve the ability to make proposals to customers and to acquire a management perspective • Financial training conducted by the CFO in order to instill awareness of making investments and conducting sales activities that are conscious of ROIC

(3) Incorporation of external resources

In order to achieve both the resolution of social issues such as decarbonization and sustainable growth, we believe that it is important to build a distributed energy system that achieves local production for local consumption of energy, and is inevitable to integrate with cutting-edge IT technologies such as AI. In order to utilize cutting-edge technologies, NICIGAS will 1) strengthen its collaboration with other companies that have expertise, also 2) create an environment where diverse human capital can thrive (DE&I), and foster a corporate culture that incorporates diverse ideas and opinions, including those of human capital from other companies.

1) Collaboration with other companies

To date, NICIGAS has been promoting DX while incorporating advanced IT technologies through collaboration with external partners. In the future, we believe that it will be important to not only utilize IT technology, but also to incorporate diverse perspectives that go beyond the energy industry, in order to grow NICIGAS’ Platform business and Energy Solution business.

As a result of its past achievements, NICIGAS has partnered with the IoT platform company SORACOM, INC. to jointly develop a smart meter (Space Hotaru) that enables online gas metering and automatic meter reading. Furthermore, the Company has incorporated know-how from the electricity business through personnel exchanges with TEPCO Group to establish the Electricity Business Department. In collaboration with TEPCO Group, NICIGAS has established Tokyo Energy Alliance Co., Ltd. (TEA), a 50-50 joint venture with TEPCO Energy Partner, Inc., to develop the Platform business that will serve as a hub for companies from other industries that are aiming to enter the city gas retail business.

In the future, we will continue to collaborate with other companies across industries and company sizes, and incorporate skills that we do not currently have from outside sources, in order to drive corporate growth.

2) Creating an inclusive work environment that empowers diverse talent (DE&I)

NICIGAS’ policy promotes personnel who contribute to improving corporate value regardless of age, gender, nationality, career, educational background, etc. We implement an individual's skills and opinions by creating an environment where diverse talents can thrive, which leads to corporate growth.

Promotion of Diversity