Dr Tatsuo Hatta of the Electricity and Gas Market Surveillance Commission (EGC), Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry (METI), Japan, shares about the nation’s journey to completely liberalising its electricity and gas retail markets.

He also discusses how market liberalisation has impacted the country and EGC’s role in responding. A current focus is on the rapid increase of Photovoltaics (PV) capacity and subsequent volatility in market prices. As a guardian of consumer protection and fair competition, what steps are EGC taking to tame power volatility? Watch the video to find out:

About Dr Tatsuo Hatta, Chairman, EGC, METI, Japan

Dr Tatsuo Hatta, whose research field is Public Economics, is Professor Emeritus of Osaka University and is President of the Asian Growth Research Institute.

Dr Hatta was appointed the first Chairman of the newly established Electricity Market Surveillance Commission of the Ministry of Economy Trade and Industry (METI) on September 1, 2015. Prior to this, he served at various government advisory committees on the electricity and gas market reform since 1990s.

In the academic area, Dr Hatta held positions of Assistant Professor, Associate Professor, and Professor of Economics at the Johns Hopkins University. Upon returning to Japan in 1986, he became a Professor at Osaka University, before taking on the role of Professor at the University of Tokyo. He was the President of the Japanese Economic Association in 2003 and 2004. Between 2007 and 2011, he was the President of National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies (GRIPS).

Dr. Hatta received his Ph.D. in Economics from Johns Hopkins University in 1973.