TOKYO: The Japanese government is to ask firms and households in much of central and westernJapan to cut electricity use by up to 20 percent, reports said Sunday as the country faces possible summer blackouts.
A government panel expects Kansai Electric Power Co., the supplier for the mid-western region including the commercial hubs ofOsaka,KyotoandKobe, will be 14.9 percent short of projected peak demand in August.
In an attempt to avoid blackouts the government plans to seek around a 20 percent cut in power consumption in the Kansai area compared to 2010 levels, the Asahi Shimbun and the Mainichi Shimbun dailies said.
The often sweltering summer isJapan's peak period for electricity use as air conditioning gets cranked up.
The resource-poor country used to obtain one-third of its electricity from atomic power generation, but theFukushimanuclear accident sparked by last year's quake-tsunami disaster turned public sentiment against the technology.
AllJapan's 50 commercial reactors have now been switched off, and when or whether they will be able to resume operations remains unclear.
Utilities for the northernislandofHokkaidoand southernKyushualso fear they will struggle to provide enough power and the government will ask consumers there to cut usage by about 10 percent, the reports said.
It also plans to ask utilities covering other areas of the country to save five percent of their electricity and redirect it to the Kansai region, they added.
Tokyo Electric Power Co, which imposed scheduled blackouts last year, is expected to be able to meet demand this summer thanks to continuing power saving by businesses and households.
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