March 17, 2011

Today, due to the severe cold, electricity demand has increased rapidly in spite of implementation of scheduled supply halts. The electricity demand in the jurisdiction of Tokyo Electric Power Company is changing at a pace exceeding yesterday’s demand by 4 million kW.
  *Yesterday’s maximum electricity demand was 32.5 million kW.

Although, the electricity supply capacity of today is 33.5 million kW, the demand reached its peak of 32.92million kW in the morning. It means the electricity demand-supply balance is very tight. If this situation continues, there is a possibility that the electricity demand exceeds its supply and unforeseeable large-scale blackout occurs between the evening and night when the demand is expected to reach its peak.

To avoid such an occurrence, we ask industries and people to reduce electricity consumption as much as possible by refraining from the unnecessary use of non-urgent electric appliances, especially during periods of peak demand, especially in the evening and during the night.

While we realize this may cause you some inconvenience, we would appreciate your understanding and cooperation.

Policy Planning Division, Electricity and Gas Industry Department, Agency for Natural Resources and Energy