July 1 (EUROPA PRESS) –
Households and businesses in the Tokyo area have started a power conservation period on Saturday, which will run from July to August, as electricity supply is forecast to be reduced in the area this summer.
The Japanese government has issued a request based on the projection that the reserve power capacity rate in the region served by Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings Inc. in July could fall to 3.1 percent, slightly above the lower level to maintain a stable supply in the event that extreme heat forecasts are met, as reported by the Japanese agency Kiodo News.
“Since the demand for electricity could fluctuate around 3 percent of the expected level, it is necessary to ensure at least a reserve of 3 percent,” explained the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry.
The rate is projected to improve to 4.8 percent in TEPCO’s service region in August, while in other regions it is expected to remain above 5 percent in July and August, a ministry official told Kiodo News.
Last year, the government issued a nationwide energy saving request from July to September, but it only focused on the area served by TEPCO.
Last summer’s request was the first issued since fiscal 2015, when all of the country’s nuclear reactors were shut down following the Fukushima nuclear power plant disaster in 2011.
The country’s weather agency has forecast that Japan could face a hotter summer due to the influence of the El Niño weather pattern (warmer water in the central and eastern Pacific), among other reasons.
