Japan to skip summer power-saving appeal for third year running
The industry ministry expects reserve margins to stay above the 3% stability threshold nationwide despite fuel-procurement risks from Middle East turmoil.
- For the third consecutive year, Japan's industry ministry will not issue a nationwide request for the public to conserve electricity during the summer.
- The decision is based on projections that the power reserve rate will remain at or above the 3% minimum required for a stable supply in all regions.
- Stocks of liquefied natural gas for thermal power generation are at normal levels, contributing to the stable outlook.
- However, the ministry will issue a conservation appeal if the situation changes, such as a severe heatwave in Tokyo which could lower the reserve rate to a near-critical 3.5%.
Japan’s industry ministry intends not to ask the public to save electricity this summer, sources said on Wednesday (May 20), marking the third straight year without such a request.
The plan was submitted the same day to a subgroup of the ministry’s advisory panel on natural resources and energy.
Although the prolonged turmoil in the Middle East has created uncertainty over fuel procurement for thermal power generation, the ministry expects the power reserve rate to remain at or above 3 per cent in every region. That level is regarded as the minimum needed to ensure a stable electricity supply.
Stocks of liquefied natural gas used in thermal power generation are broadly in line with average-year levels at major power companies. The ministry will nevertheless continue to watch inventory conditions and respond swiftly if necessary.
In a power supply-demand outlook released on Wednesday, the ministry said the reserve rate in the service area of Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings Inc. could decline to 3.5 per cent in the first half of August if the area is hit by a once-in-a-decade heatwave.
Should the reserve rate be projected to fall steeply because of problems such as power plant trouble, the ministry will call on households and other users to reduce electricity consumption.
Participants at the meeting also reaffirmed the government’s plan to keep promoting a shift towards an economic structure better able to withstand rising energy costs, including through energy-saving measures for businesses and households.
[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]
