Japan power plant shutdown raises fear of shortage in sweltering heat (updated)
30/06/2022 06:29
(Adds corporate measures, temperatures)
TOKYO, June 30 (Reuters) - Japan's electricity grid creaked
on Thursday under the strain of Tokyo's hottest June since
records began, with the unexpected shutdown of a power plant
raising fears that tens of millions of people could be deprived
of power on another scorching day.
Temperatures of around 40 Celsius (104 Fahrenheit) were
expected in some parts of greater Tokyo, home to 37 million
people, on the sixth day of a heatwave that began after the
earliest end to the capital's rainy season in decades.
Maximum highs are not forecast to drop to 30C (86F) before
Tuesday.
With power producers scrambling to bring nearly 50-year-old
turbines out of mothballs, the closure of a 600-megawatt (MW)
plant in northern Japan that sends supplies to Tokyo came with
reserve power capacity hovering around 3% - the level below
which blackouts can occur.
Operator Joban Kyodo Thermal Power Company cited unexplained
technical issues for the closure but said that parts of the
plant had been restarted as of 1 p.m., media reports said.
It was expected to start generating power again in the
evening.
A mid-morning estimate showed the reserve ratio of power
generation capacity for the Tokyo area could fall as low as 3%
between 4.30 p.m. and 5 p.m., according to national grid monitor
OCCTO.
The industry ministry issued a power shortage warning for
the fourth day in areas around Tokyo, urging households and
businesses to save electricity, without stinting on air
conditioning where it would endanger health, with heatstroke
hospitalisations on the rise.
Temperatures this month have been the highest since
record-keeping began in 1875.
The temperature in central Tokyo was 36.4C (97.5F) at 1:00
p.m. (0400 GMT) while the town of Hatoyama, north of the
capital, sweltered at 39.7C (103.4F).
TURNING OFF THE LIGHTS
Some firms, like auto parts maker Yorozu Corp 7294.T , are
scaling back shifts to save power while others, like retailer
Seven & i Holdings 3382.T and tech giant Sony 6758.T , have
asked employees to save power by turning off lights and other
devices.
Automaker Nissan Motor 7201.T said it is operating
generators at its Tochigi plant north of Tokyo from Wednesday
through to Friday, while calling on offices and factories to
save energy.
SoftBank Corp said it was easing up on the air-conditioning
at its facilities to save power, letting the temperature rise to
26C from 25C.
The government and utilities had been preparing since spring
to deal with tight power supplies during the period of peak
summer demand, but that only officially begins on July 1,
Friday.
The power squeeze has been expected with the suspension of
some power plants after March earthquakes in the Fukushima area,
a long-term drop in the number of thermal power plants amid a
push for decarbonisation and delays to the restart of nuclear
reactors because of stricter regulation following the Fukushima
disaster in 2011.
To deal with it, the government and utilities have rebooted
ageing gas-fired power plants and juggled maintenance schedules
at nuclear reactors. urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL4N2XU1PH
Japan's biggest power generator, JERA, is restarting a
45-year-old gas-fired unit in Anegasaki, near Tokyo, on
Thursday, followed by a 44-year-old unit at Chita in central
Japan on Friday to provide extra electricity. urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL1N2Y70M5
(Reporting by Yuka Obayashi and Nobuhiko Kubo; Additional
reporting by Satoshi Sugiyama, Sam Nussey and Elaine Lies;
Editing by Kenneth Maxwell)
((Yuka.Obayashi@thomsonreuters.com; +813-4520-1265;))