By SHIKI IWASAWA/ Staff Writer
November 2, 2022 at 14:12 JST
Tokyo Tower is illuminated only halfway on March 22 in response to a government request to save electricity in Tokyo. (Takuya Isayama)
The government decided Nov. 1 to call on households and businesses across Japan to save electricity as much as possible this winter due to concerns about a national power crunch.
It marked the first nationwide power-saving request in winter since fiscal 2015.
The government will call for limiting electricity usage within reasonable limits between December and March next year without setting a numerical target, following a similar request this past summer.
“We decided to take measures in light of the electric power supply and demand situation, which remains severe,” Yasutoshi Nishimura, minister of economy, trade and industry, told reporters.
The decision was reached at a meeting of relevant Cabinet ministers held the same day. People will be asked to wear extra layers of clothing, set air heating at lower temperatures and turn off lights when not needed.
The electricity reserve rate, or the percentage of unused power, of at least 3 percent is essential to securing a stable supply of electricity.
Assuming a once-in-a-decade cold snap, the rate in January will be 7.9 percent in Hokkaido, 4.1 percent in the areas served by Tokyo Electric Power Co. and Tohoku Electric Power Co., and 5.6 percent in western Japan, including the Chubu, Kansai and Kyushu regions, except Okinawa Prefecture, the latest data showed.
The rate somewhat improved compared with data presented at a ministers’ meeting in June. It was below the 3 percent threshold, for instance, minus 0.6 percent in the area served by TEPCO and 1.3 percent in western Japan.
The balance between supply and demand improved due to the restart of off-line thermal power plants and accelerated renovations of nuclear power plants.
However, the government plans to prepare for possible fuel shortages this winter with the power-saving request because fuel supply for thermal power plants remains uncertain.
Negotiations over the concession of the Sakhalin 2 gas and oil project in the Russian Far East, a source of imports for Japan, remain in a state of flux.
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