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The Japanese government asked businesses and residents in the Tokyo area to limit electricity use on Monday, warning of a blackout for the second time this year amid an energy crunch that has sparked interest in restarting some nuclear power generation.
Power reserves in the area were expected to fall below 5% of total capacity on Monday, according to Tokyo’s electric power utility. Those living in the region were asked to conserve power in the afternoon, especially between 4 and 5 p.m., when demand was expected to peak.
Kaname Ogawa, the director of electricity supply policy at Tokyo Electric Power Co., blamed the shortage on extreme heat, which he noted could extend into Tuesday.
“We are struck by unusual heat for the season,” Ogawa said in a statement. “Please cooperate and save as much power as possible.”
DAILY ON ENERGY: THE POLITICAL LANDSCAPE FOR THE SEC CLIMATE RULE
The blackout warning is the second Japan has issued since March and comes as local temperatures soared this weekend above 104 degrees Fahrenheit, sending some 250 residents to the hospital.
More broadly, the energy crunch has revived a contentious nationwide debate in Japan about whether to restart the country’s nuclear power plants, many of which remain shuttered in wake of the 2011 Fukushima nuclear meltdown.
Nuclear provided roughly 30% of Japan’s energy prior to the 2011 accidents, but following the disaster, the country took most of its plants offline.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has called on the government to restart reactors that have passed upgraded safety standards as a means of combating the shortage of fossil fuels caused by Russia’s war in Ukraine.
