Scorching summer forecast compounds Japan’s power woes

• 12 years ago (2012-05-26)
• Junior Isles

Asia 892 North America 1021 Nuclear 659

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Western Japan is to experience above average temperatures from June to August, again renewing the potential for power shortages as demand rises while nuclear power plants stay idle.

Japan's electricity demand regularly peaks in summer months due to air conditioning power demand.

Japanese nuclear power generation is resting at zero since last year's Fukushima disaster as the government has been forced to review its energy policy and nuclear safety guidelines. All of the country's 50 nuclear reactors are offline for maintenance checks.

The rest of the country will see mostly average weather for the period, the Japan Meteorological Agency has said in its rolling three-month forecast update.

The potential power gap is being met by the firing-up of costly fossil fuel plants and through a public campaign of energy-saving.

Osaka-based Kansai Electric Power Co is the utility most exposed to the nuclear shutdown.

The government has asked for at least 15 per cent power cuts in Osaka and surrounding areas from 2010 levels, this summer. It is reluctant to enforce the mandatory cuts seen on large users in the east last year.

The Japanese summer of 2010 was particularly hot, with northern and eastern Japan both marking the highest average temperatures, between June and August, since 1946.

Nationwide power demand peaked at 906.4 billion kWh in the year to March 2011, up 5.6 per cent from 2009/2010, before falling 5.1 per cent year-on-year in 2011/2012, data from Japan's regional utilities show.