Japan Press Weekly

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2011 April 6 - 12 [GREAT EAST JAPAN DISASTER]

Restrict the total volume of electricity to large-lot users

Editorial (excerpts)
Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO) is implementing the planned rolling blackouts due to the power shortfall caused by its Fukushima nuclear plant accident and a shutdown of part of its thermal power plants after the March 11 massive earthquake. However, TEPCO is neither taking into account people’s lives nor business operations.

During the power outages, medical equipment like electrocardiogram machines and gastric cameras go off. Many hospitals and clinics are forced to limit medical care, posing a great deal of problems at medical institutions and nursing-care facilities. Home-care patients are also in mortal danger with power cuts of respirators or aspirators.

A survey conducted by Tokyo’s Association of Small- and Medium-Size Enterprises shows that some businesses were directly damaged by the earthquake and that about 60% are suffering indirectly by the planned power outages.

The Japanese Communist Party is demanding that the government consider issuing an order to limit the amount of electricity used by large-lot consumers (above 500kW) based on the Electricity Business Act.

According to the Institute for Sustainable Energy Policies, TEPCO can supply adequate power without resorting to rolling blackouts if it maximizes thermal power generation and flexibly uses surplus electricity by in-house power generation at major business establishments that include other power companies and steel manufactures. The institute points out that TEPCO can also utilize the supply-demand adjustment agreement with large-scale users which gives favorable treatment for cooperation in power-saving efforts.

There also was a shortage of electricity in 2007 associated with the shutdown of the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear power station, but using the adjustment agreement secured 2.6 million kilowatts.

Utilization of this agreement on a similar scale will make up for the decline of about two million kilowatts, the total output of the three reactors at the Fukushima nuclear power plant when they were fully functioning.

It will be possible to secure even more output if the government and TEPCO actively call on large business establishments for cooperation. TEPCO should responsibly make every possible effort to avoid imposing power outages.