information about Fukushima published in English in Japanese media info publiée en anglais dans la presse japonaise
11 Juillet 2012
July 11, 2012
A prolonged electric power shortage is regarded as inevitable in most of the country, despite Kansai Electric Power Co.'s Oi nuclear power plant's No. 3 reactor in Fukui Prefecture becoming fully operational Monday, power industry sources said.
The No. 3 reactor has an output of 1.18 million kilowatts. The Oi plant's No. 4 reactor is scheduled to resume full operations on July 25.
The resumption of power generation by the two reactors will improve the nation's balance of power supply and demand compared with the situation that existed in the months after the Great East Japan Earthquake on March 11 last year.
With no prospect in sight that operations will resume at other nuclear power stations, fears of rolling blackouts are bound to linger, the sources said.
Following resumption of full operations at the Oi plant's No. 3 reactor, Chief Cabinet Secretary Osamu Fujimura at a news conference Monday called for power users, especially corporations, to conserve electricity as much as possible.
"As there is always a possibility of something unexpected happening, users are earnestly requested to maintain electricity-conservation targets [up to 10 percent]," Fujimura said.
KEPCO Vice President Jiro Kagawa on Monday expressed strong concern over possible power shortages. "The power supply outlook looks bleak even after resumption of the Oi nuclear plant's No. 3 reactor operations, as the Japan Meteorological Agency says this coming summer may be hotter than usual."
The power-saving target for KEPCO's service area, which was reduced Monday to "10 percent or more" from "15 percent or more," will be cut further once the Oi plant's No. 4 reactor is fully operational.
A federation of seven prefectures, including Osaka and Kyoto, and two Cabinet ordinance-designated cities that are served by KEPCO, however, has hinted that they will not lower the power conservation target even if the No. 4 reactor goes back online.
This is because a cut in the target could result in Kansai residents and companies taking a more lackadaisical attitude toward power conservation, according to the federation.
Many industrial entities covered by KEPCO are also expected to base their power-saving plans on the 15 percent reduction target.
Fujitsu Ltd., which has a number of plants in the Kansai region, including a cell phone factory and a computerized data center, retains its 15 percent power usage reduction plan, which includes cutting back on lights and raising air-conditioning temperatures. "We'll continue our efforts to save electricity by 15 percent or more indefinitely," a company official said.
Sumitomo Electric Industries, Ltd. has been operating in-house power generators at four production bases in the KEPCO service area since Aug. 2.
Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. has shifted some of the work at its Kobe shipbuilding yard to nighttime.
KEPCO has projected peak power demand this summer at 27.75 million kilowatts if it is as hot as the summer of 2010.
Friday recorded this season's maximum demand at 21.34 million kilowatts, much lower than the projected peak demand thanks to industrial power-conservation efforts, the utility said.
However, many people in industry say that although major companies can curtail power use relatively easily, small and midsize enterprises and households will face greater difficulty doing so.
KEPCO depends on thermal power generation for about 50 percent of its supply capacity, which is another cause of concern. The utility's thermal power plants stopped working 93 times in fiscal 2011 because of malfunctions or for other reasons, the company said.
Hiromasa Yonekura, chairman of the Japan Business Federation (Keidanren), said at a news conference Monday, "I feel like praying for a cool summer."
Saying he was concerned about power shortages affecting corporate activities, Yonekura said, "A company would have to shoulder extremely high electricity costs if it depended only on in-house power generation."
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Individual efforts needed
Tokyo Electric Power Co. will be able to ensure a stable electricity supply this summer even if there is a severe heat wave similar to the one that occurred in 2010, the utility said.
According to the firm, peak electricity demand this summer will be about 55.2 million kilowatts, less than the available power supply of 57.71 million kilowatts. The surplus capacity of 4.5 percent exceeds the 3 percent rate considered the minimum necessary to ensure a stable power supply.
While the government set power-saving targets for TEPCO's service area last year, it has no plans to do so this year.
However, the utility's estimates are based on the assumption that electricity consumption will fall by 6.1 million kilowatts from the level before the Great East Japan Earthquake through the power-saving efforts of companies and individuals.
Last summer, large-lot users were requested to cut electricity consumption by 15 percent from 2010 levels, forcing some manufacturers to operate factories on a rotating schedule that included weekends.
This summer, however, power-saving measures depend on the voluntary efforts of companies. "Such measures impose a heavy burden on employees," said Akio Toyoda, the president of the Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association.
Under the circumstances, it is unclear whether power-saving efforts will turn out as TEPCO hopes.
Current power supply systems, which rely heavily on thermal power generation, also pose a risk to stable supplies.
As thermal power plants are operating flat out because of the suspension of most nuclear power plants, there is a greater possibility malfunctions might occur. The 600,000-kilowatt No. 3 unit at TEPCO's Anegasaki thermal power station in Ichihara, Chiba Prefecture, has been suspended since June 23 after the facility was damaged
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