Japanese asked to save power amid energy shortage as plants reel from earthquake

Consumers in Tokyo urged to conserve energy after the government issued its first-ever electricity supply warning

Japan’s power supplies have been stretched thin since a strong tremor last week took several plants offline

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Japan’s power supplies have been stretched thin since last week’s earthquake took several plants offline. Photo: EPA-EFE

Published: 11:49am, 22 Mar 2022Updated: 10:59pm, 22 Mar 2022

Japan on Tuesday issued an emergency plea for citizens, businesses and local authorities to conserve energy, warning of potential blackouts after a massive earthquake idled several power plants and unseasonably cold weather boosted demand.

As snow fell in Tokyo and the temperature dropped sharply to four degrees Celsius (39 Fahrenheit), Tokyo Electric Power Co (Tepco) said 2-3 million households could lose power after 8pm (1100 GMT) at the current power usage rate.

A student volunteer helps to return books to shelves in a library in the Fukushima Prefecture town of Yabuki on Tuesday following a powerful earthquake last week. Photo: Kyodo

“At this rate, we are coming closer to a state where we will have to conduct power outages similar to those that took place after the quake (last week),” said Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) Koichi Hagiuda.

At a hastily called news conference, Hagiuda called for an additional 5 per cent or so of power savings every hour from 3 to 8pm, equivalent to about 2 million kilowatts per hour.

Electronics retailer Bic Camera said it had turned off about half of the TV sets at more than 30 of its stores in eastern Japan.

Later Tuesday, the government said power consumption had shown a notable decline after 3pm in Tepco’s service areas, apparently due to commercial users’ further cuts in electricity use. It said these areas were likely to avert a blackout for the rest of the day.