Japan has declared its first alert for possible electricity shortages in the Tokyo and Tohoku areas for 22 March on an expected spike in electricity demand for heating purposes.
The spike comes amid unusual cold weather, as well as several thermal power units remaining closed following last week's earthquake. The trade and industry ministry (Meti), and utilities Tokyo Electric Power (Tepco) and Tohoku Electric Power have called on companies and households to limit their electricity usage on 22 March to avoid potential outrages. They are asking people to switch off unnecessary lights and not to turn heaters above 20°C.
The power crunch warning was issued for the first time since the system was introduced in 2012, after Japan experienced severe power shortages in the wake of the 2011 Fukushima earthquake, tsunami and nuclear disaster.
Meti has asked power producers to boost their available thermal power units, including in-house generators, to add to supplies while making the most of pumped-storage power generation. Tokyo-based power giant Jera has already secured an additional 1.98GW of thermal capacity for 22 March by increasing output and adjusting its maintenance schedule.
Tepco Power Grid, which manages the power transmission network in the Tokyo area, yesterday estimated 60GWh of electricity should be saved over 8:00-23:00, or around 10pc against projected power demand without conservation measures. But further efforts to cut 10GWh of demand will be needed to ensure the continuous operation of pumped-storage power units to avoid outages, a Meti official said. The Tokyo and Tohoku areas may face blackouts sometime after 20:00 without such additional efforts, he added.
Power agency the Organisation for Cross-Regional Co-ordination of Transmission Operators (Occto) has ordered seven regional grid firms in Tohoku, Chubu, Hokuriku, Kansai, Chugoku, Shikoku and Kyushu to send a total of 1.42GW of electricity to Tepco Power Grid. But Tohoku Electric Power Network ended up receiving electricity supplies instead as it also faced severe power shortages. Tohoku plans to receive up to 613.6MW over 10:30-16:00 and 95.9MW over 16:00-17:00 on 22 March from Hokkaido Electric Power Network.
The 7.4 magnitude earthquake jolted the country's northeast Fukushima prefecture on 16 March. This shut around 6.48GW of thermal power capacity, of which around 2.82GW of coal-fired and 523MW of gas-fired capacity has remained closed as of 21 March. The closures of coal-fired capacity included the 1,000MW Haramachi No.1, 112MW Soma Energy Park, 112MW Sendai Power Station, 600MW Hirono No.6 and 1,000MW Shinchi No.1 units. The 523MW Shin-Sendai No.3-1 gas-fed unit also remains off line.
The unexpected shutdown of the 600MW Isogo No.2 coal-fired unit in Kanagawa prefecture, west of Tokyo, on 20 March worsened the Tokyo area's power supply conditions. It is still unclear when the unit will be brought back on line. The absence of solar power output amid snowy weather in Tokyo and Tohoku areas also tightened supplies.
Wholesale electricity prices for Tokyo area on the Japan Electric Power Exchange averaged ¥69.42/kWh ($573/MWh) for 22 March and ¥76.73/kWh for 23 March, while prices for Tohoku area delivered at an average of ¥56.27/kWh and ¥56.07/kWh, respectively. These were well above the weekly average of ¥33.23/kWh for Tokyo and ¥32.45/kWh for Tohoku for 15-21 March.
