The Japanese government has announced a power shortage alert for the first time. TEPCO has urged households and companies to conserve power by turning off unused lights and setting heater temperature at 20℃ due to the suspension of partial thermal-fired power plants subsequent to the 316 earthquake and the anticipation of surging power demand under cold weather. A reduction of roughly 10% in power consumption would facilitate stable supply of power.
As pointed out by TEPCO, the power utilization within the jurisdiction had surpassed 101% at 10a.m., which means that actual demand for power consumption has exceeded power supply capability.
A 7.4 magnitude earthquake, with a maximum seismic intensity of 6, was detected at the coast of Fukushima on March 16th, which resulted in malfunctions for generator 6 of the Hirono Thermal Power Station and generator 1 of the Soma Kyodo Thermal Power Station until now. According to the coverage of NHK, regions that receive power from TEPCO that comprise of one metropolis and eight prefectures (Tokyo Metropolis, Kanagawa, Saitama, Chiba, Gunma, Tochigi, Ibaraki, Yamanashi, and Eastern Shizuoka) will face severe power shortages on the 22nd.
TEPCO is currently doing everything to elevate output of thermal power stations to ensure power supply, though power stations that were affected by the earthquake still require a period of time before resuming power supply. Hence, TEPCO urges families and companies to conserve power between 8a.m. and 11p.m. on 22nd, such as turning off unused light and heater at home or the office, and setting the heater temperature at 20℃. A reduction of approximately 10% in power consumption would facilitate stable power provision.
Koichi Hagiuda, Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry, commented that the demand for power consumption is usually quite high during this time of the year, and he hopes that households and companies are able to conserve power together since excessive pressure at the power grid may lead to power outages.
On the other hand, power supply in the Tohoku region is also extremely severe, where generator 1 of the Shin-Sendai Thermal Power Station as well as the Haramachi Thermal Power Station of Minamisoma have also suspended operation due to the earthquake. As indicated by the statistics of Tohoku Electric Power, the demand and power utilization had reached 99% at 10a.m. for the six Tohoku prefectures and Niigata.
(Cover photo source: Unsplash)