Japanese may be asked to cut winter power use – media

The Japanese government plans to call on households and businesses to save electricity when possible, starting from December, NHK broadcaster reported this week, citing an “unpredictable” power supply situation.

According to the report, Tokyo says utilities are likely to secure a reserve power supply capacity rate of 3%, the minimum needed for a stable supply nationwide. However, procurement costs of liquefied natural gas remain high. Officials are reportedly blaming Russia’s military operation in Ukraine for the higher costs.

“The government will endorse on Tuesday a request for households and businesses to save power between December and March, without going out of their way to do so,” NHK reported, noting that a similar request had been made in the summer, when demand for power surged as temperatures went up.

The media outlet quoted the authorities as saying that if all households manage to cut energy consumption by 1%, enough electricity could be saved to power 15,000 convenience stores for a day. “The government will ask that people layer their clothes indoors and switch off lights that are not in use.”

Tokyo also believes that a 1% cut in electricity use by all offices would be enough to power some 100 thousand households, according to NHK. It reportedly plans to ask companies to reduce their use of lights and air conditioning when possible.

Russia accounts for around 10% of Japan’s LNG imports annually. The East Asian nation has drastically increased energy purchases from Moscow in recent months amid growing fears of a shortage, data shows.

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