Even if their nuclear reactors remain offline, all power companies across Japan should be able to secure stable electricity supplies this summer with help from other utilities, an industry ministry subcommittee said.
Even if their nuclear reactors remain offline, all power companies across Japan should be able to secure stable electricity supplies this summer with help from other utilities, an industry ministry subcommittee said.
The subcommittee’s announcement April 17 is based on supply-demand projections by the nine major power companies in Japan.
The average reserve rate--the margin by which supply exceeds demand--of the nine utilities is 4.6 percent, even if their nuclear power plants do not return to service, according to the subcommittee. Okinawa Electric Power Co., which does not operate nuclear power plants, was excluded from the figure.
A reserve rate of 3 percent is considered the minimum level necessary for achieving a stable supply.
That means the government for the second straight summer will likely not ask the public to take electricity-saving measures.
Kansai Electric Power Co. and Kyushu Electric Power Co., which provide electricity in western Japan and had been heavily dependent on nuclear power generation, have said their electricity supply this summer will be tighter than last year.
In fact, the reserve rate for Kansai Electric, which ran two reactors at its Oi nuclear power plant in Fukui Prefecture last year, will drop from 3.0 percent last year to 1.8 percent this summer now that those reactors have been shut down.
However, Kansai Electric will be able to reach the 3.0-percent level by receiving nearly 400,000 kilowatts of electricity from Tokyo Electric Power Co. for the first time and increasing its thermal power generation, according to the subcommittee.
The average reserve rate for Kyushu Electric, whose Sendai nuclear plant in Kagoshima Prefecture is not expected to resume operations this summer, will sink from 3.0 percent to 1.3 percent.
The company will raise the rate to 3.0 percent by receiving 200,000 kilowatts of electricity from other utilities.
Due to the different power frequencies used in eastern and western Japan, power companies are basically required to secure the minimum reserve rate of 3 percent without receiving electricity from utilities serving other regions.