A majority of firms in the Kansai region say they will be hurt if electricity use is restricted this summer, but nearly half want Japan to reduce its reliance on nuclear power in the long run, an Asahi Shimbun survey has found.
A majority of firms in the Kansai region say they will be hurt if electricity use is restricted this summer, but nearly half want Japan to reduce its reliance on nuclear power in the long run, an Asahi Shimbun survey has found.
Kansai Electric Power Co., which serves the region covering the cities of Osaka, Kobe and Kyoto, will only be able to supply about 80 percent of normal electricity demand this summer if nuclear power stations are kept offline, according to a government panel.
The Asahi Shinbun survey found that 29 of 50 major businesses polled in the region said requests for major cuts in electricity use in the summer would hit their operations. Nine said that the effect would be “significant,” while the rest said there would be a “slight” effect.
Kaneka Corp., a manufacturer of chemical products, said it would have to cut its output if it was unable to move production to other times of the year.
Eleven companies said there would be no effect on their operations, and 10 did not answer the question. One company, the beverage maker Suntory Holdings Ltd., said it depended on the size of the requested cut.
The central government is pushing to restart Kansai Electric’s two reactors at the Oi plant in Fukui Prefecture before the summer in order to avoid a power crunch. Kansai Electric generates more than 50 percent of its power from nuclear reactors, more than any other electric utility in the country.
One of its reactors will go offline on Feb. 20 for mandatory inspection, meaning that all of its 11 reactors will be out of action, either because of problems or routine maintenance.
More than 30 percent of companies surveyed supported restarting Kansai Electric’s Oi reactors. Fourteen firms did not answer the question and 19 said they were undecided.
None of the companies said Japan should maintain its current 54 operating reactors or build more reactors in the coming decades, and 23 firms said Japan should cut its nuclear industry in the long term. However, 14 firms said a smaller nuclear industry should be maintained to ensure stable power supply.
One company that supported a scaled-back nuclear capacity was the air conditioner manufacturer Daikin Industries Ltd. It said: “(Japan) has no alternative to maintaining nuclear power until renewable energy is reliable.”
Nine companies said Japan should eventually abolish all the reactors.
Asked what effect reducing the country’s dependence on nuclear power would have on the economy, 10 firms said it would be negative, citing concerns over power shortages, electricity costs and increased carbon dioxide emissions. Twenty-six companies said they did not know what the effect would be.