The government will lift restrictions on power usage in eastern Japan early next month instead of late September as initially planned, as electricity demand has fallen due to cooler weather, officials said Aug. 29.
The government will lift restrictions on power usage in eastern Japan early next month instead of late September as initially planned, as electricity demand has fallen due to cooler weather, officials said Aug. 29.
The government had planned to curb power consumption by major users in the area serviced by Tokyo Electric Power Co. until Sept. 22. Instead, the regulations will be lifted on Sept. 9.
The officials added that some hydro-electric power plants that had been suspended due to torrential rains were expected to resume operations soon, raising the prospect that TEPCO can meet demand adequately without curbing usage.
Tohoku Electric Power Co. will move up the lifting of restrictions for areas affected by the Great East Japan Earthquake and torrential rains that flooded parts of Niigata and Fukushima prefectures, from the initially planned Sept. 9 to Sept. 2.
But the government will continue calling on businesses and households to reduce electricity consumption by 15 percent through the end of September, officials said.