Keep calm and cut the air con - Japan's energy saving is model for Europe

Lawson

28/07/2022 10:31

By Rocky Swift and Yuka Obayashi
    TOKYO, July 28 (Reuters) - As Europe braces for energy
shortages from Russian gas cuts, Japan's own energy crisis a
decade ago offers survival lessons to households and businesses
- such as dimming the lights and taking the stairs.
    EU energy ministers on Tuesday approved a proposal https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/eu-countries-seek-deal-weakened-plan-cut-winter-gas-use-2022-07-26
 for member countries to cut gas use voluntarily by 15% from
August to March amid uncertain supplies from Russia due to the
war in Ukraine.
    Energy saving, or "setsuden", became a national project for
Japan in the aftermath of the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami
that triggered a meltdown at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear
plant.
    In the weeks and months that followed, shopping centres
switched off escalators, factories pared back assembly line
times, and pachinko gambling parlours - famous for their
flashing lights and noisy machines - were temporarily shut. 
    The attitude of many Japanese at the time was "We need to do
something, otherwise, there's going to be a disaster," recalled
Koichiro Tanaka of the Institute of Energy Economics, Japan.
    Intense social pressure - the kind that has ensured almost
complete public compliance with mask wearing during the COVID-19
pandemic - also played a part, he said.
    Tokyo Electric Power Co.  9501.T , the operator of the
Fukushima facility, lost about 40% of its power generation
capacity. 
    In the immediate aftermath of the accident it issued its
first-ever scheduled blackout and halted power in the capital
area intermittently in the weeks to come. It eventually rebooted
older, gas-fired and coal-fired plants.
    In May that year, the government urged citizens and
businesses in Tokyo and northern Japan to curb power by 15% at
peak times during the summer. Similar measures are being taken
again this year in Japan as it too grapples with tighter energy
supply.
    
    COOL BIZ
    Most Japanese companies entered austerity mode as soon as
the 2011 disaster hit, switching off lights and idling
elevators. The environment ministry targeted an even bigger
reduction of 25% through steps such as turning off more than
half of its printers during peak hours, and asking workers to
bring in their own cold drinks so it could unplug vending
machines.
    Professional baseball and soccer teams halted night games
and moved matches to afternoons to reduce demand for lighting.
Workplace managers raised thermostats and encouraged employees
to embrace the government's "Cool Biz" campaign of wearing
lighter clothes in the summer.
    Automaker Nissan Motor Co  7201.T  rejigged factory shift
times to ease the burden on the grid at peak mid-afternoon hours
and convenience store chain Lawson Inc  2651.T  switched to LED
light bulbs and added solar panels at many of its stores.
    Public sentiment turned against nuclear energy and by late
2013 Japan idled all 54 of its nuclear reactors that had
supplied about a quarter of the country's power, although a
small number of those reactors have been since restarted.
    To plug the energy gap, Japan turned to fossil fuels such as
liquefied natural gas (LNG), coal and oil. LNG imports from
Qatar surged after the disaster, more than doubling to 15.66
million tonnes in 2012 from 2010 levels.
    The rise in energy imports was one of the factors behind
Japan logging its first trade deficit in 31 years in 2011. The
economy slid into recession in the aftermath of the quake and
energy shortages, choking off a nascent recovery from the global
financial crisis. 
    Gross domestic product fell 0.9 percent in the quarter
during the accident, and was flat for all of 2011. 
    Differing voltage standards between the eastern and western
parts of the country made even domestic load-sharing difficult,
said Tanaka.
    "In the case of the Europeans, since they are connected by
grids, they may still have the sense of a last resort coming
from somewhere," he said. "Here in Japan, we don't have that
luxury. It's only us."

 (Reporting by Rocky Swift and Yuka Obayashi; Editing by David
Dolan and Angus MacSwan)
 ((rocky.swift@thomsonreuters.com;))