On April 1st, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government announced the continuation and expansion of their pilot project to eliminate hydro poles in residential land developments.

The project was originally implemented from FY2020 to FY2021 and has been expanded and renamed to promote the full-scale prevention of hydro pole installation in residential land development.

Eligible projects are freestanding housing subdivisions in Tokyo Prefecture that have received permission to build new roads, have a development area of less than 3,000 square meters, and will have construction completed by the end of FY 2024 (new applications will be accepted until FY 2023).

The maximum amount of subsidy is 20 million yen, and four-fifths of the total project cost will be subsidized with the cost of power lines and ground equipment to be borne by the electric power company. 

The application period is from April 1st to February 28th of 2023, with approximately 20 projects planned for FY 2022. 

Tokyo Metropolitan Government explainer video on a hydro pole free future for the city.  Japanese language only.

For further details, please refer to the Tokyo Metropolitan Government website.

Further Reading

Tokyo Metropolitan Government Pilot Program Expansion Announcement (Japanese only)