As Tokyo's June flames out in record heatwave, a power plant shutdown stokes blackout concern
30/06/2022 05:07
TOKYO, June 30 (Reuters) - Japan's electricity grid creaked
on Thursday under the strain of Tokyo's hottest June streak
since 1875, as the sudden shutdown of a power plant left tens of
millions of residents a step closer to blackouts that would
bring air conditioners to a halt.
Temperatures of around 40 C were predicted in some areas in
greater Tokyo, home to 37 million people, on the sixth day of a
heatwave that kicked in after the earliest end to the capital's
rainy season in decades. Maximum highs are not forecast to drop
to 30 C before next Tuesday.
With power producers already scrambling to bring nearly
50-year-old turbines out of mothballs, the unexpected 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 kick in.
Operator Joban Kyodo Thermal Power Company cited unexplained
technical issues for the closure, adding no schedule for restart
had been decided. Industry ministry officials said they expected
the plant to be back on line on Thursday 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. local time on Thursday, according
to national grid monitor OCCTO.
The industry ministry issued a power shortage warning for
the fourth consecutive day in areas surrounding Tokyo, urging
both households and businesses to conserve electricity as best
they can - without stinting on air conditioning where it would
endanger the health of the vulnerable, as heatstroke
hospitalistions rise.
Some firms, like auto parts maker Yorozu Corp 7294.T , have
said they will scale back manufacturing shifts, while others,
like retailer Seven & i Holdings 3382.T and tech giant Sony
6758.T , have asked employees to save power by turning off
unnecessary lighting or devices among other steps.
Automaker Nissan Motor 7201.T said it began operating
in-house power generators at its Tochigi plant north of Tokyo
from Wednesday through Friday this week, while calling on
offices and factories to conserve energy where possible.
Japan's government and utilities had been preparing since
spring to deal with tight power supplies during peak summer
demand - but not until July kicks in on Friday.
That tightness was triggered by a series of known issues:
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 that, the government and utilities had lined up
the rebooting of ageing gas-fired power plants, and changing
maintenance schedule for 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 in a bid to provide extra electricity to make up
for any shortfalls. urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL1N2Y70M5
(Reporting by Yuka Obayashi and Nobuhiko Kubo; Additional
reporting by Satoshi Sugiyama and Sam Nussey; Editing by Kenneth
Maxwell)
((Yuka.Obayashi@thomsonreuters.com; +813-4520-1265;))