Japan on Tuesday issued an emergency plea for citizens, businesses to conserve energy, warning of potential blackouts after a massive earthquake idled several power plants and unseasonably cold weather boosted demand.
Tokyo Electric Power Co (9501.T) said 2-3 million households could lose power after 8 p.m. (1100 GMT) at the current power usage rate as snow fell in Tokyo and the temperature dropped sharply to four degrees Celsius (39 Fahrenheit).
The Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) Koichi Hagiuda said that “at this rate, we are coming closer to a state where we will have to conduct power outages similar to those that took place after the quake (last week).”
Hagiuda called for an additional five per cent or so of power savings every hour from 3 to 8 p.m., equivalent to about 2 million kilowatts per hour.
Electronics retailer Bic Camera (3048.T) said it had turned off about half of the TV sets at more than 30 of its stores in eastern Japan.
The magnitude 7.4 tremor on March 16, off the northeastern coast, the same region devastated by an earthquake and tsunami in 2011 temporarily cut power to about 2 million households, including hundreds of thousands in the capital, Tokyo.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno earlier called on residents in eastern Japan impacted by the power crisis to save energy.
“We request your cooperation such as by setting your thermostats at around 20 degrees Celsius (68 Fahrenheit) and switching off any unnecessary lights,” Matsuno told a news conference.
He added that the request to save energy was unlikely to extend beyond Tuesday given the expected rise in temperatures and the addition of more solar power generation as the weather improves.
Hegiuda said the earthquake left six thermal plants un-operational in Tepco and Tohoku Electric Power Co’s (9506.T) coverage areas, and the damage to equipment could keep some idle for weeks or months.
Tepco said 100 per cent of power generation capacity was forecast to be used to meet peak demand in its service area between 4-5 p.m.
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It had requested seven regional utilities to provide electricity supply of up to 1.42 million kilowatts to ease the crunch.
