The government has asked households and businesses nationwide to reduce electricity consumption from today through the end of March next year, though it will not set numerical targets.
This is the first time in seven years that a request will be made to save electricity during the winter.
Although at present the electricity reserve ratio, which indicates the surplus capacity of the power supply, is above the minimum 3% required for a stable supply, the supply of electricity remains tight relative to demand.
For areas served by Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings Inc. and Tohoku Electric Power Co., the reserve margin is expected to be 4.1% in January. The reserve margin is expected to be 5.6% in the same month for areas served by six other companies, including Kansai Electric Power Co. and Chubu Electric Power Co.
Although reserves are expected to remain above the necessary 3% margin, risks remain, such as the possibility of a disruption in the supply of liquefied natural gas from Russia or an unexpected shutdown of thermal power plants.
"The supply of electricity remains tight relative to demand. I would like to ask the nation to save as much energy as possible," Economy, Trade and Industry Minister Yasutoshi Nishimura said at a news conference Tuesday.
As specific measures to save electricity, households are asked to use lower temperature settings with heating appliances and to turn off lights in unused rooms. According to an estimate by the Economy, Trade and Industry Ministry, households can cut their daily electricity consumption by 2.7% by lowering their HVAC's heat setting from 22 C to 20 C, while office buildings can cut their daily electricity consumption by 7.7% by turning off about half their lights.
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