TEPCO unveils online renewable electricity retail startup Trende

It will enable customers to make sure part of their electricity is solar-generated.

Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings, Inc. (TEPCO) announced today the launch of TRENDE Inc., an online renewable energy retailer selling electricity to residential customers in Japan.

Customers will be able to sign up online or with their smartphones for the new service. TRENDE offers a simple and affordable flat rate plan to its customers. The company also offers a premium plan that provides further savings for customers who are heavy consumers of electricity.

TRENDE also plans to offer solar power generation equipment and storage batteries on site at customer residences, in order to create a distributed energy platform.

The new company will be led by 2 serial entrepreneurs, Jeffrey Char and Tadatoshi Senoo. Char successfully built and sold several technology companies in the United States and Japan. Senoo spent a decade at Tokyo Mitsubishi Bank before co-founding Japan's first and largest social lending enterprise with Char in 2006 and also co-founded Orb, a blockchain startup in 2014.